Learning About Each other: The Lightning Thief
by penguinlover250
Summary: The Argo II has landed at Camp Jupiter. Reyna has decided that to learn more about Percy and the Greeks, they will read the Percy Jackson books. The readers are: Percy, Annabeth, Reyna, Jason, Hazel, Frank, Piper, Leo and Grover *spoilers for SoN
1. I Accidentally Vaporize My Teacher

**A/N Kay, so the two camps need to know each other, and the Romans want to know more about Percy. So This will be right at the end of the of the Son of Neptune. WARNING CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SoN! The writing in bold will be the book, **normal **writing the characters thoughts.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own the characters or the story**

**Chapter One- I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher**

**Percy POV**

"Come on," I said. "Let me introduce you to my _other_ family." I steered Hazel and Frank towards the clearing wear all the Romans had gathered, watching a large ship come closer and closer. It landed. First off was a boy I did not recognize, but the Roman's all gasped, and I knew, this was Jason Grace. Next came a beautiful girl and the boy who had sent the video. Next to me, I heard Hazel's breathe hitch. I meant to ask her about it, but then she stepped off the boat. Our eyes met and we ran to each other.

"Annabeth!" I cried, at the same time she called my name. I held her close and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. "I never forgot you wise girl." I murmured.

"Oh seaweed brain." She cried. I heard someone clear their throat.

"Grover!"

"Hey Percy. Missed you." We had no shame in hugging in front of everyone. I stepped back and introduced Reyna, who had been staring at Jason, who had been staring at her.

She shook her head and introduced herself and Octavian to everyone else.

'Oh, this is Frank, son of Mars, er Ares and Hazel, daughter of Pluto, er Hades." I said, pointing out my two friends.

"This is Piper, daughter of Aphrodite, or as you would say, Venus, and Leo, son of Hephaestus, or Vulcan. I am Annabeth, daughter of Athena, or Minerva." Annabeth said.

"Come with us guests, the rest of you, back to training." Reyna said as she motioned to me, Frank and Hazel.

She led us to the Senate house, which with just the nine of us there, it seemed empty.

"The gods dropped off these." Reyna said, holding several books up. "I believe it is because we are meant to read about Percy's life and learn about the Greeks." We looked at each other and shrugged. I mentally groaned.

"The first one is called Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightening Thief." She continued. "I'll read first. Chapter One, **I accidentally vaporize my pre-algebra teacher.**" She raised an eyebrow but kept reading.

**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.**

"Who does?" Most of them muttered.

**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

**Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, ****nasty ways.**

"That is so true." Percy groaned.

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened. But if you recognize yourself in these pages—if you feel something stirring inside—stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before **_**they **_**sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

**I'm twelve years old. Until a **_**few **_**months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

**Am I a troubled kid?**

"Yes!" Grover, Annabeth, and to their surprise, Frank and Hazel chorused.

**Yeah. You could say that.**

I blushed as they all started sniggering.

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan— twenty-eight mental case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

"So that was why you knew some stuff about Rome and Latin." Reyna mused.

"Well that, and I was in Latin class." Percy shrugged.

**I know—it sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were.**

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

"Chiron?" Annabeth asked as I put an arm around her. I simply nodded.

**Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armour and weapons, **

"Why would he have Roman weapons?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't know. Maybe they were really Greek but since it was Latin class I thought they were Roman?"

"Well were the weapons Imperial Gold?" Jason asked.

"I don't know! This was like 4 or 5 years ago." I answered.

**so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep. I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

**Boy, was I wrong.**

"Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth groaned before smiling. "You just can't seem to stay out of trouble now can you?"

"It's a gift." I joked. Reyna watched us with wary eyes, as though she expected us to unleash angry pirates in her home once more.

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to ****the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway. **

"Just out of curiosity, what were you aiming for?" Frank asked with a mischievous grin.

"Nothing really. I was curious to see if it would work, and...it..did..." I trailed off as Leo, Frank and Grover burst into laughter.

**And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. **

Reyna looked at me, a small grin on her face. "Sort of?"

**And the time before that... Well, you get the idea. This trip, I was determined to be good. ****All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac ****girl, hitting my best friend Grover **

"I was your best friend?" Grover asked.

"Still are." I assured him. He looked so happy, it reminded me of when he's get a good pop can to eat.

**in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and ketchup sandwich. ****Grover was an easy target. **

"What's that supposed to mean?" he cried.

"Well, er, you were." I shrugged.

"And I was supposed to protect you." Grover moaned.

"What do you mean protect you?" Reyna asked confused.

"Well don't you have satyrs that go out to locate demigods?" Annabeth asked.

"First off, we have fauns, and secondly, they don't do anything." Reyna said, looking at Jason for help.

"Things are different." He said simply.

**He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've ****been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. **

"Way to make me feel pathetic." Grover groaned.

**He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

"Grover! You could have blown your cover." Annabeth scolded.

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, ****and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. The ****headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

**"I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter." ****He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

**"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

**"You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything ****happens."**

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there.**

"You would hit a girl?" Hazel asked.

"Not all of them." I mumbled.

**In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into. Mr. Brunner led the museum tour. He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

I leaned over and whispered in Annabeth's ear "One day, your stuff will still be looked at thousands of years from now." She smiled and kissed my cheek.

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and ****started telling us how it was a grave marker, a **_**stele, **_**for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.**

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.**

"Wonder what she did to her." I muttered darkly, causing everyone to look at me funny.

**From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn. **

"Well, not quite, more like Sea Spawn." Frank chuckled. Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"I was about to say that." She fake pouted.

**She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.**

**One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

"GROVER!" Annabeth yelled. Grover shrunk down in his seat.

**Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art. Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, **

**"Will you **_**shut up**_**?" It came out louder than I meant it to. **

**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

**"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this ****picture represents?"**

**I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's ****Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

"It seems you knew some stuff seaweed brain." Annabeth chuckled.

"Kronos would be Saturn right?" Jason asked.

"Yup." I said, grimacing as I thought back to the final battle.

**"Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he **_**did **_**this because ..."**

**"Well..." I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and—"**

**"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

**"Titan," I corrected myself. "And ... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, ****Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"**

**"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

**"—and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the ****gods won."**

**Some snickers from the group.**

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. ****Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"**

**"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, ****does this matter in real life?"**

"It helps us surivive." Hazel answered.

**"Busted," Grover muttered.**

**"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.**

**At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying ****anything wrong. He had radar ears.**

**I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

"It matters a lot." I said to myself, but those sitting near me heard as well and nodded.

**"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"**

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.**

"Please tell me you one of them." Annabeth and Reyna begged.

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

**I knew that was coming. I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go— intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.**

"They're much older than that." Piper said, beating Annabeth to the punch. The Roman's looked at them, trying to figure out what they meant.

**"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

**"About the Titans?"**

**"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

**"Oh."**

**"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."**

**I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard. ****I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armour and shouted: "What ho!'" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever **_**lived, **_**and their mother, and what god they worshipped. **

"You know that's difficult to do when you have Dyslexia." I said frowning.

**But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C— in my life.**

"Really?" Annabeth asked. "I have dyslexia and ADHD too, but I'm usually in the Bs or my best was an A-."

"Not all of us are extremely smart wise girl." I teased, I was just so happy to hear her voice once more.

**No—he didn't expect me to be **_**as good; **_**he expected me to be **_**better. **_**And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

"Okay, so spelling is an issue." Annabeth addmited. "So that is why I use a laptop with enhanced spell checker."

"Still using that thing from Daedalus?" I asked.

"Of course." She answered.

**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.**

"Probably was." Leo said, nodding his head.

"Do you remember the name?" Annabeth asked eagerly.

"Of course I don't! Like I said, that was a long time ago."

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch. ****The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue. ****Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I ****figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

"Gods at war?" Jason asked. Grover, Annabeth, and I nodded. "Great."

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables**

**crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from **_**that **_**school—the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

**"Detention?" Grover asked.**

**"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean—I'm not a genius."**

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some ****deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

Grover blushed as we all started laughing. "Sorry Perce." He mumbled. I just laughed harder.

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it. I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me, **

Piper thought of her dad and how she never got to see him either.

**but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. **

"Pessimistic much?" Frank asked.

"I was just preparing." I defended.

**I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me. Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.**

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends—I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists—and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

**"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. **

**Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos. I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears. **

"A wave Percy? Really?" Annabeth said with a grin.

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming,**

**"Percy pushed me!" Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see—"**

**"—the water—"**

**"—like it grabbed her—"**

"Woah!" Leo and Piper said, never having seen me use my powers, I rolled my eyes, I'd give them a nice demo later.

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again. As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. **

"It was." Grover groaned. He just shook his head at the others questioning looks.

**"Now, honey—"**

**"I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

"No, really?" Leo joked. I was starting to get the idea that this guy liked to joke around a lot.

**"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

**"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. **_**I **_**pushed her."**

**I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

"And with good reason too." He grumbled.

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

**"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

**"But—"**

**"You—**_**will**_**—stay—here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

**"It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

**"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "**_**Now**_**."**

**Nancy Bobofit smirked. I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare. **

"Ooooo scary." Hazel teased, causing Annabeth to laugh.

**Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

**How'd she get there so fast?**

"She got really excited." Annabeth said, recovering from her laughing fit.

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

**I wasn't so sure. **

"Good instincts." Jason mumbled.

**I went after Mrs. Dodds. Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel. I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop. But apparently that wasn't the plan. I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section. Except for us, the gallery was empty. Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling. Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...**

**"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

**I did the safe thing. I said, "Yes, ma'am."**

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil. She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

"Oh yes she is." Grover sighed.

**I said, "I'll—I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building.**

**"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain." **

**I didn't know what she was talking about. All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room. **

This caused Leo to let out a chuckle, followed by Piper and Frank.

**Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on **_**Tom Sawyer **_**from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

"It's a good book." Annabeth said.

"Did you read it in Greek?" Piper asked confused.

"No. I bought an audio version."

**"Well?" she demanded.**

**"Ma'am, I don't..."**

**"Your time is up," she hissed.**

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons. **

"What in the name of the gods is that?" Jason exclaimed.

"We call them Furies, you call them the Dirae. We prefer to call them the Kindly Ones if we must speak of them though." Annabeth explained.

"How do you know so much about Roman mythology?" Reyna asked suspiciously.

"When Jason told us about Camp Jupiter, I researched as much as I could." Annabeth explained. "I wanted to be able to communicate with you the best I could, just in case Percy didn't remember the Greek stuff." She looked away at the end, but i pulled her closer to me.

**Then things got even stranger. Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

**"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

"Is that-?" Annabeth started.

I fingered my pen and grinned, "Yep."

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me. With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword—Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day. **

Leo and Piper both looked at the pen.

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes. My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

"Really?" Reyna asked.

"Hey, in my defence, I thought I had lost my mind and I was going to die."

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

"That 'honey' thing is really annoying." Leo said.

**And she flew straight at me. Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword. The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. **_**Hisss! **_**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

**I was alone.**

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand. **

"You still let the mist affect you?" Piper asked. I merely shrugged.

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me. My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something. Had I imagined the whole thing? I went back outside. It had started to rain. Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

**I said, "Who?"**

**"Our **_**teacher. **_**Duh!"**

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about. She just rolled her eyes and turned away. I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

"Grover." Everyone groaned.

**"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

**Thunder boomed overhead. I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved. I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing ****utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson." I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

**"Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

**"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

"Of course not." I snapped.

"Okay, well I think we should get to know each other a bit more before evening muster. What do you think Percy?" Reyna asked.

"Sounds good." I agreed. "But you guys get started, I just need to talk to Jason for a sec."

I got up and moved over a couple rows. Jason followed a little confusedly.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Look Jason, I just got elected praetor, but you were it first so-" but he cut me off.

"Percy, they chose you."

"But I belong on the East coast. Don't get me wrong, this camp has become my second family, but after this is all done, I'm going to my real home, Ive been away too long."

"If you're sure." He said, but I noticed the happy spark in his eyes.

"Of course, we'll announce it at dinner tonight." I said, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait, I think you should still be an honorary praetor, whenever you're here." He said. I smiled and we shook hands before rejoining the others.

**A/N So what do you think? Let me know by leaving a review. Next chapter should be up soon. **

**P.S. There wasn't much dialogue as they don't really know each other very well, but that will change soon. Stay posted :) **


	2. Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death

**A/N They sit in a circle in this order- Reyna, Jason, Piper, Leo, Grover, Annabeth, Percy, Frank, Hazel (Hazel next to Reyna)  
>Also, It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, which means three days off school. I have no homework and no family coming to visit. Why am I telling you this? Well I've got the next couple chapters written and sitting on my computer so me being bored, I'm updating this even though I just updated. :) Have a great Thanksgiving<strong>

**Disclaimer- I own Nothing**

**Chapter Two- Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death**

"I'll read next and we'll go around the circle." Jason suggested, everyone nodded and Reyna passed him the book. "**Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death.**" He read. "Interesting."

"Are those the-" Annabeth asked.

"Yep." Grover and I answered.

**I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.**

"That was really confusing, and annoying." I said, shaking my head at the memory.

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho. It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed.**

**Almost.**

"Grover right?" Annabeth asked. I nodded and she sighed. "Grover, I'm going to teach you how to lie."

**But Grover couldn't fool me. When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying. Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum. I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.**

**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. **

"Jupiter?" Jason asked. Grover looked at him before going "Oh! You mean Zeus! Yeah him."

"Do you guys know the names for the Greek gods?" Piper asked.

Reyna, Jason, Frank and Hazel nodded.

"It's part of our defence classes when we first start. We had a feeling you Greeks weren't gone, so one of the classes was about Greeks. Well mostly just what you called your gods and most monsters, just in case." Reyna explained. I knew she must have been the one to suggest them once she knew about Annabeth and I.

"Okay, because since these books are Greek, well, the language switches to Latin when you read, but the gods are in their Greek form, can we just use their Greek names?" Piper asked.

Reyna made a face but she and the others agreed.

**One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs. I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.**

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.**

Annabeth opened her mouth. "Save it wise girl, I really don't care." I chuckled.

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy. Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

**I was homesick. I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather **

"I thought you liked Paul." Annabeth said confused.

"This was before Paul." I muttered darkly. Grover nodded in remembrance.

**and his stupid poker parties. And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange. **

"Hey!" Grover protested, causing the demigods from Camp Half-blood to laugh.

**I worried how he'd survive next year without me. I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well. As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

"Maybe because your head isn't completely filled with kelp." Annabeth suggested innocently, causing me to flick water at her, just enough to sprinkle her, nothing big. Still, Piper, Leo, and Jason looked shocked.

**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology across my dorm room. **

"Percy!" Annabeth cried.

**Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards. There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon,**

"I know now!" I exclaimed when I spotted her incredulous look.

**or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.**

"It's quite easy." Reyna started.

"No it isn't. Not when you're Greek." I said.

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt. I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.**

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book. I'd never asked a teacher for help before. **

"And maybe that's why you do horribly in school." Annabeth huffed.

**Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried. I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. A voice that was definitely Grover's said "... worried about Percy, sir."**

**I froze.**

"You heard this?" Grover asked shocked. I just nodded my head

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper, **

Several people snorted. Yeah, okay.

**but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

**I inched closer.**

**"... alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that**

**we know for sure, and they know too—"**

**"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."**

**"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline— "**

**"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."**

**"Sir, he saw her... ."**

**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

**"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."**

"You did wonderfully. And now look mister Lord of the Wild." I said to cheer Grover up, who, at the reminder, had started to look down.

**"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"**

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

"Don't blame you there." Frank chuckled. "I probably would have freaked out a little more though."

"Yeah, hearing about your impending death? Not so fun." I said, while Annabeth grimaced, thinking about that stupid prophecy.

**Mr. Brunner went silent.**

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall. A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

"He had that out in the school?" Piper asked.

"And he wasn't very careful?" Annabeth added.

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

**A few seconds later I heard a slow clop-clop-clop, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on. A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.**

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..."**

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

**"Don't remind me."**

"And that my friends is the part about being a keeper that sucked. I never want to look at another classroom again." Grover exclaimed, causing everyone to laugh.

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office. I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever. Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm. Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.**

**"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"**

**I didn't answer.**

**"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

**"Just... tired."**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.**

"I could read your emotions, a lovely satyr gift, but I thought it was the anxiety over the coming exams that had you freaking out." Grover frowned.

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing. But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger. The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

**"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... it's for the best."**

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.**

"Oh she better hope she never meets me." Annabeth growled, clenching her fists.

"Clarisse is worse." I siad reassuringly.

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

**"I mean ..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say.**

**"This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."**

**My eyes stung. Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

**"Right," I said, trembling.**

**"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal,**

**Percy. That's nothing to be—"**

**"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me.**

**"Percy—"**

"He really needs to work on his communication skills." Piper muttered.

**But I was already gone.**

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase. The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies. They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

**"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed. The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.**

"After the Kindly One? There was no way in Tartarus I was letting you out of my sight. Lot of good that did anyway." Grover said, glaring at me at the last bit. I turned red and mumbled apologies.

**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.**

**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore. I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"**

"Nearly gave me a heart attack too." Grover said, rubbing his chest as though he had just been shocked.

"Sorry." I mumbled once more.

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam. Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"**

**"Oh ... not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"**

**He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers ..."**

**"Grover—"**

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ..."**

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."**

"Yep, definitely giving you lying lessons." Annabeth said, shaking her head.

**His ears turned pink. From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."**

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes,**

"I never understood why it was so difficult to read." Annabeth said frowning.

"Because Mr. D loves to make us miserable." I suggested sourly.

**but I finally made out something like:**

**Grover Underwood**

**Keeper**

**Half-Blood Hill**

**Long Island, New York**

**(800) 009-0009**

**"What's Half—"**

**"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... summer address."**

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.**

"Believe me, I'm not." Grover said.

**"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

**He nodded. "Or ... or if you need me."**

**"Why would I need you?"**

**It came out harsher than I meant it to.**

"Well, I'm glad you didn't mean it that way." Grover said.

**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."**

**I stared at him. All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. **

"Really Percy, I wasn't going to be there if you weren't." Grover said, rolling his eyes. "I still appreciate the thought though."

**And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me.**

**"Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"**

**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

"What was that?" Reyna asked.

"Fate." I whispered, and Annabeth smacked me, realizing who the three old ladies would be.

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else. We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of bloodred cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

"How big were they?" Leo asked. Jason read ahead and smirked at Leo.

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks.**

"Well that answers that question." Leo said blushing.

**The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses. The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.**

Annabeth sucked in a breath. "Percy please tell me you left. Please tell me." Annabeth begged.

"Percy is stubborn. What do you think happened?" Grover said. Even the Roman's knew about the Fates and were staring at me.

"I was tweleve and didn't know about this stuff. i just thought they were huge socks." I said in defence.

**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.**

**"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"**

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

**"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."**

"Oww! Annabeth!" I cried, rubbing my arm where Annabeth had hit me.

"That was not funny Perseus Jackson." Annabeth said, so worried she pulled out my full name.

**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.**

"Don't look." Annabeth begged once more.

**"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

"Why did you not listen to him?" Several people shouted at me.

**"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."**

**"Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.**

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic. Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

"Hey, look I`m alright." I said, but now I was a little uneasy.

**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.**

"So not a coincidence." Annabeth muttered.

**The passengers cheered.**

**"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu. Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

**"Grover?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"What are you not telling me?"**

**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were ****something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. **

"They are." Annabeth said. She opened her mouth to go on explaining why, but I put my hand over her mouth.

**He said, "Just tell me what you saw."**

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."**

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost—older.**

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

**"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.**

**"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."**

"Just remember, it wasn't like the last time at all." I said to my friend.

"What happened last time?" Frank asked.

"It'll probably be revealed in the book." I said.

**"What last time?"**

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."**

**"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. **

"You really were." I grumbled.

**"What are you talking about?"**

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

"Yeah. That really worked out didn't it." Grover said glaring at me. I could feel my cheeks go bright red.

**"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

**No answer.**

**"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"**

**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on**

**my coffin.**

"I did not enjoy that look one bit Grover. And that is why I ditched you." I said, crossing my arms in front of me.

"Well sorry. I was a wee bit freaked out too. You should have listened to me." Grover huffed. We stared at eachother for a long time before I cracked a smile and Grover started laughing.

"You two are so weird." Piper said. "Now pass me the book. Chapter three, **Grover Unexpectedly Loses his Pants.**" She read, arching an eyebrow at the name. Grover just waved her on, blushing.

**A/N So how was that? Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited or added this to their alerts :)**


	3. Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants

**A/N I'm going to try something different with the POV so please let me know if you like it.**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing**

**Chapter Three- Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants**

**ANNABETH POV **

_"You two are so weird." Piper said. "Now pass me the book. Chapter three, **Grover Unexpectedly Loses his Pants**." She read, arching an eyebrow at the name. Grover just waved her on, blushing._

**Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.**

"How could you be such a seaweed brain?" I asked crossing my arms.

"I was a little freaked out." Percy defended.

**I know, I know. It was rude. But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man, muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"**

"Okay, that could be a little freaky." I admitted.

"So am I forgiven?" He asked.

"Well everything worked out in the end." I said, snuggling into his embrace.

**Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom. Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.**

**"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.**

**A word about my mother, before you meet her.**

"She's the best!" Grover and I sighed. Percy grinned at us, but then his expression clouded over.

**Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck. **

"She seems pretty lucky now..." I said in confusion.

"This was before." He said, his expression still clouded over, but now with a hint of guilt.

**Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.**

"That is rotten luck." Piper said.

**The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad. I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile.**

"See! He does care about you." I said. Percy just nodded.

**My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures. See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.**

**Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea.**

"Well, it's true. He wasn't dead, and he was in the sea." Hazel said.

**She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid. Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano, who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe.**

"That's not even an understatement." Grover said wrinkling his nose.

**I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.**

Now everyone, myself included wrinkled our noses. Ewwwwww.

**Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along ... well, when I came home is a good example.**

**I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet. Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."**

**"Where's my mom?"**

**"Working," he said. "You got any cash?"**

**That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?**

"What would you have done if he did say any of those things to you?" Frank asked.

"Dropped dead of shock." Percy answered.

**Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes. He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.**

"Ew." Piper said.

**He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret."**

**Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out.**

"Did he ever lay a hand on you?" I growled.

"No." Percy answered, but his gaze became dark.

**"I don't have any cash," I told him.**

**He raised a greasy eyebrow. Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.**

"I get it." I said suddenly.

"Get what?" Leo asked in confusion.

"Why she married him. It's because-" but Percy cut me off.

"You'll find out in like a chapter or two. Don't spoil things wise girl."

**"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"**

**Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here."**

**"Am I right?" Gabe repeated.**

**Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony.**

"Disgusting pigs." Reyna muttered.

**"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."**

**"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

**I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room. During school months, it was Gabe's "study." He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.**

**I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home.**

"Camp is a better home. Both of them." Percy said with a smile.

**Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn. But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic—how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone—something—was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons.**

**Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?"**

Leo snorted and we all looked at him.

"Sorry sorry. You were expecting a monster, but it was your mother and you just said she was the best." He explained, causing us to chuckle as well.

**She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted. My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room. **

"Awww" most of the girls cooed. Reyna looked as though she were remembering a time long ago.

**Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light.**

I turned to face him and tilted his head left and right. "Yours do too a little. Depending on the light, sometimes they're really dark and sometimes they get really light. But they're always beautiful." Percy smiled and kissed me softly.

**Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad.**

"I wish my dad was like that." I sighed.

"He's better now." Percy whispered. I smiled and leaned back against him.

**I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe.**

**"Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

**Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.**

**We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay?**

**Was her little boy doing all right?**

**I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.**

Percy was blushing five shades of red at this point.

**From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?"**

**I gritted my teeth. My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe.**

**For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time. I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin.**

"Which turned out to be very helpful." Percy said, looking at the Roman's.

**And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad.**

**Until that trip to the museum ...**

**"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets.**

**"Did something scare you?"**

**"No, Mom."**

"You should have told her." I said. "Oh wait it's you, of course you didn't." I smirked. Percy mumbled something inaudible into my hair.

**I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid.**

"She would have understood." Grover groaned.

**She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me.**

**"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

**My eyes widened. "Montauk?"**

**"Three nights—same cabin."**

**"When?"**

**She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."**

**I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money.**

"Yeah because he spent it all on poker and cigars." Percy grumbled.

**Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?"**

**I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.**

**"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

**Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?"**

**"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

**"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your stepfather is just worried about money.**

**That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works."**

**Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip ... it comes out of your clothes budget, right?"**

**"Yes, honey," my mother said.**

**"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

**"We'll be very careful."**

I shifted to see Percy's face. He was grinning like some sort of evil villain. I decided not to ask.

**Gabe scratched his double chin. "Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip ... And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game."**

**Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week.**

"Do it." Several people cried.

**But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad. Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?**

I saw Percy look down in guilt. I rubbed his arm comfortingly.

**"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now."**

**Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.**

**"Yeah, whatever," he decided. He went back to his game.**

**"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

**For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes—the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride—as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air. But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.**

"I hate that guy." Hazel said. "Do you want me to leave him a diamond or something?" I looked at her in confusion. What was she talking about?

"He's already taken care of." Percy said, that same grin back on his face.

**An hour later we were ready to leave. Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car. He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking—and more important, his '78 Camaro—for the whole weekend.**

**"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."**

"Oops." Percy said chuckling. The rest of us looked at him as though he'd gone mad.

**Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me. Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I got so mad I did something I can't explain. As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the staircase as if he'd been shot from a cannon. Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out.**

Everybody burst out laughing.

"Well, it is a kind of warding off evil gesture." Grover said, still laughing at the mental image.

**I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.**

**Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, **

I shuddered.

"So I'm not going to take you there?" Percy asked. I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"Of course you can, just go into every cabin and kill every spider and then make sure they can't get in." I said.

**and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.**

"That wouldn't bother you though would it?" Grover asked.

"Not really." He answered.

"Yeah, I mean you fell off an iceberg and that didn't seem to bother you." Frank said.

"You what!" I shrieked.

"Er, um, I'll tell you later." He stammered.

**I loved the place.**

**We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad.**

**As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.**

**We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.**

"What's with the blue food?" Piper asked. She looked back at the book. "Oh."

**I guess I should explain the blue food.**

**See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop.**

"And it's my favourite colour." Percy added.

"Yes seaweed brain, we know." I chuckled.

**This—along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano—was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me.**

"The sea does not like to be restrained. It's part of what attracted her to my dad." Percy said with a smile.

**When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.**

"Do you know if she's finished it yet?" Annabeth asked.

"Well, when I was taken, she was about half way through it." Percy said.

**Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk—my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.**

**"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."**

**Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."**

"He is proud." Percy said so softly even I almost didn't hear him.

**I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.**

**"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean ... when he left?"**

**She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

**"But... he knew me as a baby."**

**"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

**I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember ... something about my father. A warm glow. A smile.**

"Aww, he watched over you" Hazel cooed.

**I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me ...**

**I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe.**

**"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

**She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.**

**"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think ... I think we'll have to do something."**

**"Because you don't want me around?" I regretted the words as soon as they were out.**

"That was unfair." Reyna said.

"I know, I know." Percy said. "I said I regretted it as soon as the words were out."

**My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I—I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away."**

**Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said—that it was best for me to leave Yancy.**

**"Because I'm not normal," I said.**

"That's not a bad thing." Piper said. "I used to think it sucked, but now I know the truth. And the truth shall set you free."

Percy shook his head _This was a daughter of Aphrodite?_ He thought to himself.

**"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

**"Safe from what?"**

**She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me—all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.**

**During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.**

"Why would a Cyclops be stalking you?" I asked.

"Not all of them are like Tyson." He answered. "Remember Polyphemus?"

I nodded.

**Before that—a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands.**

**In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move. I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword.**

**But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that.**

**"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it."**

**"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

**"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp."**

"And enter Camp Half-Blood." Grover cheered.

**My head was spinning. Why would my dad—who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born— talk to my mom about a summer camp? And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?**

**"I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I—I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."**

"I would've come back." Percy sighed.

**"For good? But if it's only a summer camp ..."**

**She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.**

**That night I had a vivid dream.**

"Don't I always." Percy said sarcastically.

**It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf. The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.**

**I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion. I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, No!**

"So you knew who your dad was, kinda." I said.

"I guess."

"Wait, so Ju-Zeus and Nep-Poseidon are fighting?" Jason asked.

"You'll see." I answered.

"And my dad is cheering them on?" Hazel asked glumly.

"You'll see." Percy answered.

**I woke with a start.**

**Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery. With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."**

**I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten. Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry,tortured sound that made my hair stand on end.**

**Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice—someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.**

**My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock. Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... he wasn't exactly Grover.**

"So who was he?" Hazel asked with a confused look on her face.

**"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"**

**My mother looked at me in terror—not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.**

**"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"**

**I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.**

**"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" he yelled. **

"What?" Jason and Frank asked at the same time.

"It means, Oh Zeus and other gods!" Percy translated. I felt a warmth surge through me. Of course I already knew he remembered everything, but still, he translated that so perfectly, so quickly. To hear him speak the language...

**"It's right behind me! Didn't you tell her?"**

**I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly. I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on—and where his legs should be ... where his legs should be ...**

"What? What happened to his legs?" Hazel asked.

Grover kicked off his fake feet and pulled down his pants.

"He was seeing me, as me."

**My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: "Percy. Tell me now!"**

**I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning. She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. Go!"**

**Grover ran for the Camaro—but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters, and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked. Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves.**

"Okay, it's time for evening muster, and we have a lot of explaining to do." Reyna said grimly.

XXX ( 3rd person POV)

The eight demigods and Grover walked to dinner.

"Ave!" Reyna shouted, she was answered by all the others.

"We welcome back Jason Grace." There was a round of applause as Jason stepped forward.

"Now Jason and I have had a discussion over the praetorship." Percy paused as the crowd mumbled. "We have decided that Jason shall be your other Praetor."

"And Percy shall be an honorary one, whenever he is here at camp." Jason continued.

"So there could be three praetors? Ridiculous!" Octavian shouted.

"Shut up you Fatuus." Reyna yelled back. (**A/N according to Google translate, Fatuus means idiot)**

"The position is rightfully Jason's as much as it is Percy's. They have worked together to come to an agreement without bloodshed. We shall honour this." She continued, earning a round of applause.

"Now then, the Greeks will be staying with us while we develope battle strategies, then they shall sail to Rome and Athens to fulfill the prophecy of seven. The seven are Percy, Jason, Frank, Hazel, Piper, Leo and Annabeth."

"You have an hour for dinner. There will be no war games tonight." Jason said dismissing the cohorts.

**A/N I have put my trust in Google Translate haha. So my idea was that every couple chapters the POV switches. Just to mix things up. Let me know what you think!**


	4. Dinner

**A/N This chapter is set during dinner. The characters are going to get to know each other. I have been writing all day yesterday (which is why there have been three updates in one day). Anyways so I want to do a chapter where everybody just talks so I'm quickly going to write this chapter before I continue with ch6. After this, I'm going to calm down with the updates just a smidge ;)**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing**

**Annabeth POV**

The dining hall was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was a large building with wood beams high above. Wind spirits whisked food everywhere and campers sat at couches surrounding low tables. There seemed to be no order to their seating. Reyna waved us over to an empty table. That Octavian tried to sit with us, but Reyna shooed him away. We sat down and the wind spirits brought us whatever we wanted. We all broke off into different conversations.

**Percy POV**

I was seated next to Jason, Who was next to Reyna.

"So you're quite the leader back at Camp Half-blood." He said.

"And you seem quite famous around here." I responded.

"I've lived here my whole life." He shrugged. "How do you get the campers at camp half-blood to listen to you? I mean here, you are elected as a leader, they have to listen to you, but back at camp half-blood, there seems to be no hierarchy, other than cabin heads."

Annabeth leaned around me to answer. "Percy just has natural leadership qualities."

"In times of trouble, people need someone to look to, and for some bizarre reason, they chose me." I admitted.

**Annabeth POV**

I heard Percy and Jason discussing leadership qualities, and turned to Hazel.

"So you came back from the dead?" I asked. Hazel inhaled the gumbo on her spoon and started coughing.

"Sorry."

"No no, it's fine." She took a sip of her milk. "Straight to the point are you?" she laughed.

"Yeah, I did. Nico was looking for his real sister but she chose to be reborn." She stated.

"Oh that's good. Nico has to move on." I interrupted.

"How did you meet Nico?" She asked.

"I was one of the demigods to find him and his sister. Then I got kidnapped and there was this quest to find me. That's when his sister died. We'll probably read about it since Percy was there." I said.

"Oh."

**Hazel POV**

I liked Annabeth. Straight forward and to the point. I didn't really want to read about Bianca's death though. I wonder why Nico pretended he didn't know Percy?

"Hey." I looked up as Frank smiled at me.

"Hey." It's a good thing I was sitting, because I was feeling a little shaky. But now I was confused. I liked Frank, a lot. But this Leo, he even has the same last name. It's like a piece of my Sammy come back to me. Okay, hold on there girl, Sammy and I never started anything really. The day he kissed me, I moved. And Sammy obviously moved on.

"I'm just moving down the table to see Leo, that guy's a riot." He said. I nodded and he left.

"Annabeth, have you ever been unsure of how you felt about a boy?"

"Yeah." She admitted.

"Really?" I forgot about my questions, I wanted to hear more. "When?"

"Well, I thought I liked Luke." I noticed pain flash across her face. I wonder who he was. Maybe he died in battle. "I didn't know that I really liked Percy until Mt St Helens exploded."

"That big explosion a couple years ago?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'm sure it comes up..."

"Please tell me now." I asked and she smiled softly at me.

"Kay. So we were helping Hephaestus by looking to see who was using his forge in that mountain. It was Kronos' army making weapons. Percy told me to go, that was the first time I kissed him. Then he got cornered and I watched as the mountain blew up. It was horrible, he was gone for two weeks, we even burned his burial shroud."

"Woah woah woah. Back up for one second. Percy caused that eruption?" Annabeth nodded.

"Anyway, what was your question?" She asked. I told her about Sammy and Leo, and Frank. She nodded.

"I think you should stay with Frank. I mean Leo's a great guy, but you know Frank, and Frank is head over heels for you."

I sat back and thought about that.

**Jason POV**

Percy seemed like an alright guy. We talked about our adventures and things like that, but now he was catching up with his girlfriend. I looked next to me, Reyna was awfully quiet. I looked across the table. Piper, Leo and that Frank boy were laughing and telling jokes. Piper looked up, caught my eye and smiled. I smiled back. I think we could be something. But what about Reyna? I'm positive that we weren't dating, but I felt different around her.

"Drachma for your thoughts?" I asked her.

"What?"

"Oh er Denarii for your thoughts?" I corrected, causing Reyna to smile. She was pretty when she smiled. Okay rewind. I thought I was starting to like Piper?

"I'm worried about the world ending, I'm worried about the camp, and I'm worried about you." She admitted.

"Me? Why?" I asked.

"I'm scared that you'll die and I'm afraid that I've lost you to the Greek camp." She said, shooting a glance at Piper.

"Hey, I'm right here and I'm going to come back from that quest and I'm going to stay here. I'll still make visits to the other camp, just like Percy will make visits here. I belong here, it feels right."

"But what about Piper?" she asked, then looked away. I remembered her as always keeping herself guarded.

"I don't know. I like her, a lot. But you make me feel things I haven't felt for eight months. In time we could have been something, maybe we still could." I said.

"Yes, but Piper will be with you for Jupiter knows how long." Reyna argued.

"Rey," she looked up at her old nickname. "I've known you since you came to this camp. You know me. The mist made Piper think I was her boyfriend. Sometimes I feel like we're trying to jump right back where we thought we were." I admitted. "Just give me time."

Reyna grinned at me and then slipped some silverware to her dogs. I was now very confused. I now that having a future with Piper would be difficult. I love camp half-blood, but in short, frequent visits. Piper would feel the same about camp Jupiter. Sure, we had been through a lot together, but so had Reyna and I. Oh boy.

**Piper POV**

I looked up from the joke Leo was telling when I felt his eyes on me. I smiled, and his lips curved upwards. Then he returned to talking to Reyna. She was beautiful, you have to admit that. But Jason doesn't care about looks. I wasn't joking when I said I would compete with his past.

"Piper? Piper?" I shook myself free of my thoughts and turned to Leo and Frank.

"Sorry what?"

"I was asking you about your family." Frank said.

"Oh. Well my dad is still alive and doesn't know I'm a demigod. I mean I told him, then wiped his memory. My mother is Aphrodite and my siblings, well most of them, are stuck up Barbie dolls." I said. "What about you?"

"My dad is Mars, and I'm not liking my Greek relatives." Frank frowned.

"Yeah, but Clarisse, well she's mellowed a dab. And believe it or not, she is worried about Percy too." I said.

"What about the rest of your family?" Leo asked.

"My mum died over seas. Not sure about my grandmother. I think she died in our house fire." Frank said, looking down.

"Sorry to hear that man." Leo said sadly. I rubbed his arm in comfort, knowing he was thinking about his own mother.

**Reyna POV**

It seems that Jason is really close to this Piper girl. She's very beautiful, and seems down to earth. And she thinks they've dated before. Uh I'm just not going to think about that. I turned to watch Annabeth and Percy interact.

Percy is my friend, and he's sorry for destroying my home. However, he also reunited me with my sister. But Annabeth doesn't know what she did. I watch them laugh and look at each other with love in their eyes. Maybe, a small voice says in the back of my head, maybe she was just trying to save the one she loves.

**A/N I hope this was okay. There will be more like this throughout the many books. Like I said above, I am going to tone down the updating just a bit. But I know what it's like to just want the chapters all at once, but I'm not patient :)**


	5. My Mother Teaches Me Bullfighting

**Disclaimer- I own nothing, Rick Riordan owns it**

**Chapter Four- My Mother Teaches Me Bull-Fighting**

**Annabeth's POV**

"So my turn to read? Awesome." Leo said once we came back from dinner. He cleared his throat dramatically. "Chapter four, **My Mother Teaches Me Bull-Fighting**."

**We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the windshield. I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.**

**Every time there was a flash of lightning, I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I'd gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants. **

"Shag carpet pants? Really?" Grover asked and Percy blushed.

**But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo— lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.**

**All I could think to say was, "So, you and my mom... know each other?"**

"Oh seaweed brain. Of course that's all you thought of."

**Graver's eyes flitted to the rear view mirror, though there were no cars behind us. "Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."**

**"Watching me?"**

**"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I am your friend."**

"I really am." Grover repeated.

"I know bud." Percy said with a smile.

**"Urn ... what are you, exactly?"**

**"That doesn't matter right now."**

"You should have just answered." Percy groaned.

**"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—"**

**Grover let out a sharp, throaty "Blaa-ha-ha!"**

**I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat.**

**"Goat!" he cried.**

**"What?"**

**"I'm a goat from the waist down."**

**"You just said it didn't matter."**

**"Blaa-ha-ha! There are satyrs who would trample you under hoof for such an insult!"**

"See you answered me anyways."

**"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths?"**

"And you didn't believe me anyways." Grover shot back.

**"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"**

**"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!"**

"You're really still caught up with Mrs. Dodds?" I asked.

"Shut up. I just learned everything was real."

**"Of course."**

**"Then why—"**

**"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious. "We put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."**

**"Who I—wait a minute, what do you mean?"**

**The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail.**

**"Percy," my mom said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."**

**"Safety from what? Who's after me?"**

**"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions."**

"Grover!" several people shouted.

"That's going to make her panic." Jason groaned.

"My dad was after you? Why?" Hazel asked.

"You'll see." Percy said, cutting me off. I was just about to answer that question.

**"Grover!"**

**"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"**

**I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination. I could never dream up something this weird.**

"And yet you have the weirdest dreams." Frank said.

**My mom made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.**

**"Where are we going?" I asked.**

**"The summer camp I told you about." My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared. "The place your father wanted to send you."**

**"The place you didn't want me to go."**

**"Please, dear," my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."**

**"Because some old ladies cut yarn."**

**"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means—the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to ... when someone's about to die."**

**"Whoa. You said 'you.'"**

**"No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"**

**"You meant 'you.' As in me."**

**"I meant you, like 'someone.' Not you, you."**

"Boys!" Reyna scolded. Leo smirked as he read the next line.

**"Boys!" my mom said.**

Reyna blushed as we all laughed.

"But really Grover; thanks so much for freaking me out... again." Percy said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

**She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid—a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm.**

**"What was that?" I asked.**

**"We're almost there," my mother said, ignoring my question. "Another mile. Please. Please. Please."**

**I didn't know where there was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive.**

"I wish we got there sooner." Percy said, closing his eyes against the memory.

**Outside, nothing but rain and darkness—the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leathery wings. My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really hadn't been human. She'd meant to kill me.**

"Really Percy, still?" Piper asked.

**Then I thought about Mr. Brunner ... and the sword he had thrown me. Before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling boom, and our car exploded. I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time.**

"Zeus hates me." He grumbled.

"Why?" Jason asked.

"For existing." Percy answered.

**I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat and said, "Ow."**

**"Percy!" my mom shouted.**

**"I'm okay..."**

**I tried to shake off the daze. I wasn't dead. The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch. Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in. Lightning. That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump. "Grover!"**

"I'm never any help." Grover said dejectedly.

"Yes you are! You've helped save us more times than we can count." Percy said nudging me.

"Of course Grover. Don't think like that." I said. I didn't need Percy's nudge, I would have said it anyway.

**He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, No! Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die!**

"Aww." Hazel cooed.

"Really?"

"Of course G-Man." Percy said.

**Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope.**

We all shook our heads in amusement.

**"Percy," my mother said, "we have to ..." Her voice faltered.**

**I looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it made my skin crawl. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns.**

"They were horns." Percy said bitterly.

Reyna put the pieces together.

"Woah. You battled the Minotaur without any training or weapons?" she looked impressed.

**I swallowed hard. "Who is—"**

**"Percy," my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."**

**My mother threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. I tried mine. Stuck too. I looked up desperately at the hole in the roof. It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking.**

**"Climb out the passenger's side!" my mother told me. "Percy—you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"**

**"What?"**

**Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.**

I looked down at the reminder of what my friend had been during this time.

**"That's the property line," my mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door."**

**"Mom, you're coming too."**

**Her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean.**

"She can't." Leo said, realizing what was about to happen.

**"No!" I shouted. "You are coming with me. Help me carry Grover."**

**"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder.**

**The man with the blanket on his head kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. As he got closer, I realized he couldn't be holding a blanket over his head, because his hands—huge meaty hands—were swinging at his sides. There was no blanket. Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head ... was his head. And the points that looked like horns ...**

**"He doesn't want us," my mother told me. "He wants you. Besides, I can't cross the property line."**

**"But..."**

**"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please."**

**I got mad, then—mad at my mother, at Grover the goat, at the thing with horns that was lumbering toward us slowly and deliberately like, like a bull.**

"That would be because he _is_ a bull." Frank chuckled.

"Oh shut up." Percy said, but there was a smile on his face.

**I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. "We're going together. Come on, Mom."**

**"I told you—"**

**"Mom! I am not leaving you. Help me with Grover."**

"Oh Percy." I said sadly, knowing what was going to happen.

**I didn't wait for her answer. I scrambled outside, dragging Grover from the car. He was surprisingly light, but I couldn't have carried him very far if my mom hadn't come to my aid. Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist-high grass. Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of Muscle Man magazine—bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin. He wore no clothes except underwear—I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms—which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary. **

"No, it's still pretty funny." Frank said above everybody's giggles.

**Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders. His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm, snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns— enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener.**

"Good luck getting out of this one." Reyna said in amusement.

**I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us.**

**But he couldn't be real.**

"Everything is real." Jason said.

"I know that now." Percy said, rolling his eyes.

**I blinked the rain out of my eyes. "That's—"**

**"Pasiphae's son," my mother said. "I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."**

**"But he's the Min—"**

**"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."**

"At least your mother knew." I said.

"Yeah, because my dad loved her and told her who he was." Percy said.

**The pine tree was still way too far—a hundred yards uphill at least. I glanced behind me again. The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the windows—or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling. I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.**

**"Food?" Grover moaned.**

**"Shhh," I told him. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"**

**"His sight and hearing are terrible," she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."**

**As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.**

**Not a scratch, I remembered Gabe saying.**

**Oops.**

Everybody burst into laughter; Percy's comment the last chapter finally making sense.

"Oh boy, I can't wait to see his reaction." Frank said.

**"Percy," my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way— directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"**

**"How do you know all this?"**

**"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me."**

**"Keeping me near you? But—"**

**Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill. He'd smelled us. The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter.**

"Lay off the soda cans or eat the diet ones." Percy joked. Grover leaned around me and smacked Percy hard.

**The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us. My mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said."**

**I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right—it was our only chance. I sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on me. His black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat.**

**He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest. The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing. So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side.**

"Woo!" Several people cheered.

"He's not out of the woods yet." Reyna warned.

**The bull-man stormed past like a freight train, then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward me this time, toward my mother, who was setting Grover down in the grass.**

"Crap." Leo said.

**We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it. **

"You just need to pass the tree." I said anxiously.

**The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing my mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.**

**"Run, Percy!" she told me. "I can't go any farther. Run!"**

**But I just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air.**

"No!" everyone shouted.

**"Mom!"**

**She caught my eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"**

**Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply ... gone.**

Leo shook his head sadly. _I know that pain of being the cause of your mother's death_. He thought. I turned to Percy and caught his gaze. 'Not your fault.' I mouthed. He nodded and smiled sadly.

**"No!"**

**Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs—the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons. The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.**

"Don't worry; I'd just turn into a plant or something." Grover said lightly.

"Not helpful Grover.' Percy said.

**I couldn't allow that. I stripped off my red rain jacket.**

**"Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!"**

"You need to work on your insults." Piper said.

**"Raaaarrrrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.**

**I had an idea—a stupid idea, **

"Uh-oh. When he thinks this, you better get out of the way." I said teasingly.

"Not all of us are master battle strategists, wise girl." He teased back.

**but better than no idea at all. I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.**

**But it didn't happen like that.**

"Of course not." I groaned.

**The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.**

**Time slowed down.**

**My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck. How did I do that? I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out. The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils.**

"Ewww." Several people said, wrinkling their noses.

**The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat, but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.**

"Thank the gods for that." I said.

**Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off.**

**"Food!" Grover moaned.**

"Sorry." Grover muttered blushing as we all laughed.

**The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage filled me like high-octane fuel. I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then—snap!**

"What happened?" Jason asked anxiously.

**The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smacked against a rock. When I sat up, my vision was blurry, but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.**

**The monster charged.**

**Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage. The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate—not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart.**

**The monster was gone.**

"Points for using his own horn against him." Jason grinned.

"And for not being trained." Reyna added.

**The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help, so I managed to haul him up and stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farmhouse. I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held on to Grover—I wasn't going to let him go.**

"Thanks man. That couldn't have been easy." Grover said.

"Anytime." Percy answered.

**The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's. **

"Princess hair?" I asked, my eyebrows lifting.

"At least I thought you were pretty." He said with an innocent smile.

Grinned and kissed him on a cheek.

"And yet it took you guys like four years o get together." Grover huffed.

**They both looked down at me, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be."**

"And which one would that be?" Piper teased. I was sure the heat in my cheeks meant that I was bright red.

**"Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside."**

"And that's the chapter." Leo said.

"Just one thing, Shouldn't you get started on your quest?" Reyna asked.

"We can't. The Argo II takes several days to cool down and recharge. We won't be going anywhere." Leo explained.

"Oh Alright then. Carry on." Reyna said, motioning to Grover to read.

"Chapter five, **I Play Pinochle With a Horse.**"


	6. I Play Pinochle With A Horse

**A/N I've made the decision that most chapters will be Percy's POV but every now and then, they will be someone else's POV So look out for that at the start of every chapter.**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing**

**Chapter Five- I Play Pinochle With a Horse**

**Percy POV**

"_Oh Alright then. Carry on." Reyna said, motioning to Grover to read._

"_Chapter five, __**I Play Pinochle With a Horse.**__"_

**I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Most of them wanted to kill me. The rest wanted food.**

"Dude, that's not even a demigod dream." Grover said.

"Yeah, that's pretty messed up." Leo joked.

**I must've woken up several times, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again. I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn, only it was pudding. The girl with curly blond hair hovered over me, smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon.**

"Aww is little Annie taking care of Percy?" Frank joked, earning a spray of water from me and a glare from Annabeth.

"And don't call me Annie." She growled.

**When she saw my eyes open, she asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"**

**I managed to croak, "What?"**

**She looked around, as if afraid someone would overhear. "What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"**

**"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I don't..."**

"I can't believe I thought you would have the answers." Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.

"What was stolen?" Jason asked.

"You'll see." Annabeth answered.

**Somebody knocked on the door, and the girl quickly filled my mouth with pudding. The next time I woke up, the girl was gone. A husky blond dude, like a surfer, stood in the corner of the bedroom keeping watch over me.**

**He had blue eyes— at least a dozen of them—on his cheeks, his forehead, the backs of his hands.**

"Oh there's way more than a dozen." Piper giggled.

I rolled my eyes in a joking way and flashed a smile at her.

**When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, except that they were nicer than I was used to. I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries. **

"Sounds cozy? But where are your battle stations?" Reyna asked.

"Romans were more about war than the Greeks were." Annabeth explained.

"We still train just as hard, but we're more relaxed." I explained, having experienced both camps.

**There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt.**

**On the table next to me was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry. My hand was so weak I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it.**

"That would suck." Annabeth commented.

"What would happen?" I asked warily.

"It would be very hot and could burn through that blanket." Annabeth answered grimly. We all looked at her in shock.

**"Careful," a familiar voice said. Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. **

"I hadn't. I was worried about you, but also worried about what I'd say when you came around. I mean, it was my fa-" Grover said.

"No. It was not your fault." I said firmly. If it had been anyone's, it would have been mine, I thought. Annabeth sensing what I was thinking hugged me tightly.

**Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box. He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said CAMP HALF-BLOOD. Just plain old Grover, Not the goat boy.**

"Percy! Not you too!" Grover cried.

"What?" I asked.

"Goat Boy? Thalia calls me that."

"My sister?" Jason asked, perking up.

"Jason is Thalia's real brother?" I asked and Annabeth nodded.

**So maybe I'd had a nightmare. Maybe my mom was okay. We were still on vacation, and we'd stopped here at this big house for some reason. And...**

Leo shook his head. He remembered trying to fit the world into his own logic when his mother had died. No matter how hard you tried, and he had tried hard, it won't work.

**"You saved my life," Grover said. "I... well, the least I could do ... I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this."**

**Reverently, he placed the shoe box in my lap. Inside was a black-and-white bull's horn, the base jagged from being broken off, the tip splattered with dried blood. It hadn't been a nightmare.**

**"The Minotaur," I said.**

**"Urn, Percy, it isn't a good idea—"**

**"That's what they call him in the Greek myths, isn't it?" I demanded. "The Minotaur. Half man, half bull."**

**Grover shifted uncomfortably. "You've been out for two days. How much do you remember?"**

**"My mom. Is she really ..."**

**He looked down.**

"Hey, I didn't know there was hope." Grover said.

"You can still save your mom?" Leo asked, wishing he could save his.

**I stared across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, and the tallest one, directly in front of us, was the one with the huge pine tree on top. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight.**

**My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful.**

"That's so sweet." Piper said. Frank nodded, that's how he felt; still felt in fact.

**"I'm sorry," Grover sniffled. "I'm a failure. I'm—I'm the worst satyr in the world." He moaned, stomping his foot so hard it came off. I mean, the Converse hi-top came off. The inside was filled with Styrofoam, except for a hoof-shaped hole.**

**"Oh, Styx!" he mumbled.**

"Is that like Oh, hell?" Reyna asked.

"Yeah. What do you say if you feel like cursing or you need to make an oath." Annabeth asked.

"Umm sometimes we say _O diis propter amorem_, or Oh for the love of the gods. And for making oaths we swear on the Senate and People of Rome." Reyna explained, pointing at the SPQR tattoo on her arm.

"Oh." I said.

**Thunder rolled across the clear sky. As he struggled to get his hoof back in the fake foot, I thought, Well, that settles it. Grover was a satyr. I was ready to bet that if I shaved his curly brown hair, I'd find tiny horns on his head. But I was too miserable to care that satyrs existed, or even minotaurs. All that meant was my mom really had been squeezed into nothingness, dissolved into yellow light.**

"I'd prefer if you didn't shave my head." Grover said, in an attempt to lighten the mood. It worked and we all cracked a smile.

**I was alone. An orphan. I would have to live with ... Smelly Gabe? No. That would never happen. I would live on the streets first. I would pretend I was seventeen and join the army. I'd do something.**

"Yeah, like stay at Camp Half-Blood." Leo joked.

**Grover was still sniffling. The poor kid—poor goat, satyr, whatever—looked as if he expected to be hit.**

**I said, "It wasn't your fault."**

**"Yes, it was. I was supposed to protect you."**

"No it wasn't." I said.

"Yes it was." he shot back.

"It was my fault." I said. I needed to get it through his thick head that he was not to blame.

"My fault."

"My fault."

"BOYS!" Reyna shouted. We both looked at her, shocked at her extremely loud voice. "Please continue the story. I want to know what happens next."

**"Did my mother ask you to protect me?"**

**"No. But that's my job. I'm a keeper. At least... I was."**

**"But why ..." I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision swimming.**

**"Don't strain yourself," Grover said. "Here." He helped me hold my glass and put the straw to my lips.**

**I recoiled at the taste, because I was expecting apple juice. It wasn't that at all. It was chocolate-chip cookies. Liquid cookies. **

"How is that good?" Annabeth asked.

"You like my mom's cookies."

"Of course, but in liquid form? Ew." Annabeth shuddered.

**And not just any cookies—my mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting. Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy. My grief didn't go away, but I felt as if my mom had just brushed her hand against my cheek, given me a cookie the way she used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay.**

**Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass. I stared into it, sure I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted.**

**"Was it good?" Grover asked.**

**I nodded.**

**"What did it taste like?" He sounded so wistful, I felt guilty.**

**"Sorry," I said. "I should've let you taste."**

**His eyes got wide. "No! That's not what I meant. I just... wondered."**

"What would happen if you drank some?" I asked.

"I'd shrivel up and burn away." Grover said.

"Oh my gods! That's awful." Hazel cried.

**"Chocolate-chip cookies," I said. "My mom's. Homemade."**

**He sighed. "And how do you feel?"**

**"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards."**

Several people smirked at that

**"That's good," he said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff"**

**"What do you mean?"**

**He took the empty glass from me gingerly, as if it were dynamite, and set it back on the table.**

**"Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting."**

"Who?" the Romans asked.

"You'll see."

**The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse. My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. Grover offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I held on to it. I'd paid for that souvenir the hard way. I wasn't going to let it go.**

"Good idea." Jason said.

**As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath. We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture—an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena—except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings.**

"That sounds beautiful." Hazel sighed dreamily.

"It is" I said, feeling slightly homesick.

"Don't worry Percy; we'll save the world and go back." Annabeth said. I felt torn. I wanted to go back to Camp Half-Blood, but I would miss Camp Jupiter too. Maybe I could visit...

**Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond haired girl who'd spoon-fed me popcorn-flavored pudding was leaning on the porch rail next to them.**

"Curiosity killed the cat." I hissed in Annabeth's ear.

"Yes, but satisfaction brought him back." She replied cheekily.

**The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He looked like those paintings of baby angels— what do you call them, hubbubs? No, cherubs. That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park. He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my stepfather.**

"If Mr. D ever reads this, he's going to kill you." The Greek campers laughed.

**"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron..."**

**He pointed at the guy whose back was to me. First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard.**

**"Mr. Brunner!" I cried.**

"So Mr. Brunner is this Chiron guy? Who's Chiron?" Frank asked.

"He's a centaur and legendary trainer of Heroes." Annabeth said, pride in her voice.

**The Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. His eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice answers B.**

**"Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle."**

**He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you."**

"Pleasant fellow." Reyna rolled her eyes.

"Just don't let him hear you" Annabeth warned.

"Why?"

**"Uh, thanks." I scooted a little farther away from him because, if there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice.**

"I wish you didn't know how to tell that." Piper said sadly.

**If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.**

"You wish you were a satyr." Grover said smugly.

**"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl.**

"You still thought of me as the blond girl? Really? Grover told you who I was and Chiron just called me by my name." Annabeth said in amusement.

**She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."**

"How is your camp sorted? Do you not have cohorts?" Reyna asked.

"No, we stay in cabins based on our godly parent." Annabeth explained.

"Sorry Percy." Hazel said blushing.

I remembered asking her if they were sorted by their parent and she had said it was a stupid idea. I just laughed, while the others looked confused.

**Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron."**

**She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image. **

"Excuse me?" Annabeth asked.

"Well, they're a beautiful stormy gray. But I would have expected them to be way bluer." I explained. "I love your eyes."

**They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight.**

"I was." She said smugly. She looked me up and down. "And it totally would have worked."

**She glanced at the minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, You killed a minotaur! or Wow, you're so awesome! or something like that. Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep."**

This caused everyone to burst into laughter. I tried to look cross, but failed miserably.

"I don't anymore." I mumbled.

**Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her.**

**"So," I said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?"**

**"Not Mr. Brunner," the ex—Mr. Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron."**

**"Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D ... does that stand for something?"**

"You're dead."

**Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."**

**"Oh. Right. Sorry."**

**"I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."**

**"House call?"**

**"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to ... ah, take a leave of absence."**

"Yep, that's me, Mr. Special prophecy kid." I said.

"What prophecy?" Reyna asked, knowing that the Greek camp just got the prophecy of seven.

**I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared and Mr. Brunner had taken the class.**

**"You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked.**

**Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first. We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test."**

"A test I almost failed." I grumbled, thinking about my mother.

**"Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"**

**"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt.**

"Oh gods I am dead." I groaned.

**"You do know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed me suspiciously.**

**"I'm afraid not," I said.**

**"I'm afraid not, sir," he said.**

**"Sir," I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less.**

"I actually feel bad for any of his kids. I mean sure they actually see their dad, but he's a total jerk." Grover said.

"But he really does care." I said softly.

**"Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all civilized young men to know the rules."**

**"I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron said.**

**"Please," I said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun—Chiron—why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?"**

**Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question."**

**The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile. Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, I was his star student. He expected me to have the right answer.**

"I like that smile." Annabeth said quietly with a shy smile. I kissed the top of her head.

**"Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?'**

**"She said ..." I remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."**

**"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed. Young man, are you bidding or not?"**

**"What?" I asked.**

**He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did.**

**"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient."**

"Ah that film is awesome!" Leo said.

**"Orientation film?" I asked.**

**"No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know"— he pointed to the horn in the shoe box—"that you have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. **

"Got that right." Jason said, still impressed.

**What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods—the forces you call the Greek gods—are very much alive."**

"So are the Roman ones." Frank cheered.

**I stared at the others around the table. I waited for somebody to yell, Not! But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!" He cackled as he tallied up his points.**

"Chiron's so gonna win." Annabeth predicted.

**"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"**

**"Eh? Oh, all right."**

**Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully.**

**"Wait," I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God."**

**"Well, now," Chiron said. "God—capital G, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical."**

**"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about—"**

**"Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavours: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter."**

"Oh they won't like that." Leo mused.

Annabeth giggled. "No they certainly won't."

**"Smaller?"**

**"Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class."**

**"Zeus," I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them."**

**And there it was again—distant thunder on a cloudless day.**

"Zeus is so touchy." I glowered. Jason glared at me.

**"Young man," said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you."**

**"But they're stories," I said. "They're—myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science."**

**"Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson"—I flinched when he said my real name, which I never told anybody—"what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals—they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come so-o-o far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."**

**I wasn't liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if... he wasn't.**

"Who is he? Or what is he?" Hazel asked.

**It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut.**

**"Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that immortal means immortal. Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?"**

**I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal, but the tone of Chiron's voice made me hesitate.**

"Glad to know you had a normal reaction at least once." Annabeth said rolling her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Jason asked.

"Well, while you guys were destroying Kronos' Palace over here, I defeated Kronos on Mount Olympus." The Romans gasped. "The gods offered me immortality, but I turned them down."

"What?"

"Why?"

"I'm sure it'll come up later." I said shifting under their stares.

**"You mean, whether people believed in you or not," I said.**

**"Exactly," Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that someday people would call you a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?"**

"That was low." Leo said.

**My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him. I said, "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."**

**"Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you."**

**Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock."**

"Let me guess, he's a god?" Reyna asked.

**"A lucky thing, too," Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe.'"**

**He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine. My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.**

"It was very shocking." I said as everyone started laughing at me.

**"Mr. D," he warned, "your restrictions."**

**Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.**

**"Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"**

**More thunder.**

**Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.**

**Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."**

"Do any gods have an ounce of restraint?" Hazel asked.

"No." Everyone chorused.

**"A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.**

**"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time—well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away—the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence,' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down.' Ha.' Absolutely unfair."**

"Yes, unfair to us." Annabeth grumbled, Piper nodded and I silently agreed.

**Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.**

**"And ..." I stammered, "your father is ..."**

**"Di immortales, Chiron," Mr. D said. "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course."**

**I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all seemed to work here. The way Grover cringed, as if Mr. D were his master.**

**"You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine."**

"Give the demigod a prize." Grover teased.

"so that means he is the Greek version of Dakota's dad. Eeessh." Frank chuckled.

**Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, 'Well,**

**duh!'?"**

**"Y-yes, Mr. D."**

"What if you said no?" Frank asked Grover.

"Let's just say that I would become a plant a lot quicker than I'd like."

**"Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"**

I made a face. "Oh Absolutely not." I said in horror. Causing everyone to laugh at me, except for Piper who was looking a little green at the thought.

**"You're a god."**

**"Yes, child."**

**"A god. You."**

"How are you alive?" Leo asked.

"Believe me, that's better than Nico. He called him the wine dude." I chuckled with the others before remembering.

"Oh yeah, remind me that when we find Nico, to kill him."

"Why?" Annabeth asked.

"He was here, recognized me and didn't say a thing." I said angrily. I noticed Annabeth's glare. "Want to help kill him?"

"With Pleasure."

**He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr. D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a strait-jacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life.**

"So don't argue with him?" Leo asked, a hint of fear on his face.

"Definietly not." I said, thinking back to the one time he had helped us while on our quest for Annabeth and Artemis.

**"Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly.**

**"No. No, sir."**

**The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win."**

**"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."**

"Knew it." Everyone from Camp Half-Blood said.

**I thought Mr. D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher. He got up, and Grover rose, too.**

**"I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment."**

**Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir."**

"Was he too hard on you?" Piper asked.

"Nah. He could have been worse."

**Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners."**

"I remember Cabin eleven. I was only there for like three hours though." Piper reminisced

**He swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably.**

**"Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron.**

**Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job. He's been ... ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus."**

"It would suck to be sent away from Olympus." I admitted "Especially now." I whispered to Annabeth.

**"Mount Olympus," I said. "You're telling me there really is a palace there?"**

**"Well now, there's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount**

"Where we'll be going." Piper said glumly.

** Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do."**

**"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like ... in America?"**

"Yes Percy." Leo smirked.

**"Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West."**

**"The what?"**

**"Come now, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization.' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece.**

"Woo!" The Greeks cheered.

**Then, as you well know—or as I hope you know, since you passed my course—the heart of the fire moved to Rome, **

"Woo!" This time the Romans cheered.

**and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps—Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on—but the same forces, the same gods."**

**"And then they died."**

"Considering we're all sitting here, no they did not die." Hazel teased.

**"Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture. **

Annabeth nodded her head so fast, I thought she would hit my chin.

"Yes wise girl. We know you like architecture"

**People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not—and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome, **

"Hey!" The Roman campers cried.

"Rome was an amazing empire." Reyna defended.

**either—America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here."**

**It was all too much, especially the fact that I seemed to be included in Chiron's we, as if I were part of some club.**

**"Who are you, Chiron? Who ... who am I?"**

"And that my friends; was the million dollar question." I said.

"And you just had to be sea spawn didn't you?" Annabeth joked, while the others looked at us curiously.

**Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible. He was paralyzed from the waist down.**

**"Who are you?" he mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it? But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate."**

"Your camp sounds like a lot of fun." Hazel said longingly.

"We have fun too." Reyna snapped.

**And then he did rise from his wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear, **

"Velvet underwear?" Leo asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

**but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realized that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached. I stared at the horse who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a huge white stallion. But where its neck should be was the upper body of my Latin teacher, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk.**

"He's a centaur and he teaches at camp?" Reyna asked.

"Greek centaurs are usually wild, but more party wild than war wild." I explained, thinking back to the centaurs we had seen when we passed the army.

**"What a relief," the centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen ****asleep. Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."**

"You know, I liked being a camper before I got claimed. Otherwise I was alone." I shrugged.

"And that is why I said that being sorted by parent was stupid." Hazel said, sitting back in her chair. "Keep reading."

"That was the end of the chapter." Grover said.

"Yes! My turn! Pass it over." Annabeth cheered. "Chapter six, **I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom.** You have really weird chapter titles. Anyways."

**A/N The response to this story is making me very giddy :) Thank you for reading! Next chapter up soon.**

**Okay, so some people have requested Octavian be put in the story, and I admit I too have pondered this idea. On my profile, I have a poll asking if you want Octavian entered in the story. Please vote :)**


	7. I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom

**Disclaimer- I own nothing, Rick Riordan owns it**

**Chapter Six- I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom**

**Frank POV (Yay!)**

"_Yes! My turn! Pass it over." Annabeth cheered. "Chapter six, __**I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom.**__ You have really weird chapter titles. Anyways."_

**Once I got over the fact that my Latin teacher was a horse, we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him. I'd done pooper-scooper patrol in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a few times, and, I'm sorry, I did not trust Chiron's back end the way I trusted his front.**

"Really Seaweed brain. He does have the brain of a man, he can control his hindquarters." Annabeth said in amusement.

**We passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the**

**minotaur horn I was carrying. Another said, "That's **_**him**_**."**

"And that is where your arrogance begins. Just kidding." She said when Percy scowled at her.

**Most of the campers were older than me. Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover, all of them trotting around in orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts, with nothing else to cover their bare shaggy hindquarters. I wasn't normally shy, but the way they stared at me made me**

**uncomfortable. I felt like they were expecting me to do a flip or something.**

"Good thing you didn't. You'd break every bone in your body." I chuckled.

"I'm not that clumsy." Percy grumbled, causing Annabeth, Grover, Hazel, and me to laugh.

**I looked back at the farmhouse. It was a lot bigger than I'd realized—four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort. I was checking out the brass eagle weather vane on top when something caught my eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable. Something had moved the curtain, just for a second, and I got the distinct impression I was being watched.**

"By what?" Leo asked.

**"What's up there?" I asked Chiron.**

**He looked where I was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic."**

**"Somebody lives there?"**

**"No," he said with finality. "Not a single living thing."**

**I got the feeling he was being truthful. But I was also sure something had moved that curtain.**

**"Come along, Percy," Chiron said, his light hearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see."**

**We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe.**

"What's the satyr doing?" Reyna asked.

"Don't your fauns use woodland magic?" Grover asked.

"They don't do anything." Reyna said.

"What?"

"Grover calm down. Woodland magic is very important. It helped us win the war." Percy said.

**Chiron told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount ****Olympus. "It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."**

**He said Mr. D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just went crazy when he was ****around. It worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those, so they grew strawberries instead. ****I watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the ****strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire. I wondered if Grover could work that kind of magic with music. **

"Well, I can now." Grover said sullenly.

**I wondered if he was still inside the farmhouse, getting chewed out by Mr. D.**

"And yes, I was."

**"Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" I asked Chiron. "I mean ... he was a good ****protector. Really."**

**Chiron sighed. He shed his tweed jacket and draped it over his horses back like a saddle. ****"Grover has big dreams, Percy. Perhaps bigger than are reasonable. **

"Hey! I was the first satyr to return and I found Pan. So there Chiron." Grover huffed. The look on his face made me want to giggle. And I never giggle.

**To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."**

**"But he did that!"**

**"I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the ****Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate ... ah ... fate of your mother. And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part."**

"You are the bravest satyr ever." Percy interrupted.

"Now you sound like Juniper." Grover said blushing.

**I wanted to protest. None of what happened was Grover's fault. I also felt really, really guilty.**

**If I hadn't given Grover the slip at the bus station, he might not have gotten in trouble.**

"Sorry about that." Percy said guiltily.

"It's all good." Grover said.

**"He'll get a second chance, won't he?"**

**Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that **_**was **_**Grover's second chance, Percy. The council was not**

**anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, five years ago. Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age... ."**

**"How old is he?"**

**"Oh, twenty-eight."**

**"What! And he's in sixth grade?"**

"And that really sucks."

"Man, I'd hate to be a satyr." Leo joked.

**"Satyrs mature half as fast as humans, Percy. Grover has been the equivalent of a middle**

**school student for the past six years."**

**"That's horrible."**

**"Quite," Chiron agreed. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards, and**

**not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career..."**

"Never." He said defiantly.

**"That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"**

**Chiron looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?"**

**But I wasn't quite ready to let the subject drop. Something had occurred to me when Chiron ****talked about my mother's fate, as if he were intentionally avoiding the word **_**death. **_**The ****beginnings of an idea—a tiny, hopeful fire—started forming in my mind.**

"Oh dear." Annabeth sighed.

"What?" I asked.

"That my friend is the start of a plan that is going to go way off course." She groaned before turning back to the book.

**"Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real ..."**

**"Yes, child?"**

**"Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?"**

**Chiron's expression darkened.**

**"Yes, child." He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "There is a place where spirits go ****after death. But for now ... until we know more . . . I would urge you to put that out of your ****mind."**

I noticed Hazel shiver. And put a comforting arm around her. I remembered our trip through her memories.

**"What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"**

**"Come, Percy. Let's see the woods."**

**As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, ****with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native ****Americans.**

"Close." Annabeth said. She opened her mouth to continue.

"Annabeth, we really don't care." Leo said, causing the others to chuckle and Annabeth to blush.

**Chiron said, "The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed."**

**"Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"**

**"You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?"**

**"My own—?"**

**"No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I'll visit the armory**

**later."**

"Well at least you have an armoury. Is it stocked?" Reyna asked.

"Pretty well, we also make our own weapons." Leo said.

"It's actually a good idea." Jason said. "We scrounge for weapons so making our own would be great. We could melt down old armour and damaged weapons."

**I wanted to ask what kind of summer camp had an armory, but there was too much else to ****think about, so the tour continued. We saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables**

**(which Chiron didn't seem to like very much),**

"Can you imagine Chiron in the stables?" I asked laughing. There was a beat of silence while everyone pictured. Then they roared with laughter.

**the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheatre, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.**

**"Sword and spear fights?" I asked.**

"It took awhile to sink in." Percy said when we all stared at him.

**"Cabin challenges and all that," he explained. "Not lethal. Usually. Oh, yes, and there's the ****mess hall." Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.**

**"What do you do when it rains?" I asked.**

**Chiron looked at me as if I'd gone a little weird. **

All the campers from the other camp looked at him the same way.

"What?" Percy said flushing red. "Last time I'm going to mention it. I. Didn't. Know. Anything."

"You still don't." Annabeth muttered, causing us all to laugh.

**"We still have to eat, don't we?" I decided to ****drop the subject.**

"It can't rain." Percy explained since us Romans were looking confused.

**Finally, he showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, **

"More than 12 now." Annabeth said proudly.

**nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen.**

"How so?" Hazel asked.

"You'll see." Annabeth said with a grin.

**Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, ****evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory. **

"Woo! Go Hephaestus!" Leo cheered.

**Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass. Seven ****seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at. They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops (which were more my speed).**

"I've never seen you play though." Annabeth mused.

"Because someone is usually trtying to kill me." Percy said lightly.

**In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered. A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.**

"Who-"Hazel started.

"Hestia." Piper said.

**The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers ****mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from ****different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them. **

"That cabin actually creeps me out." Jason said.

"It creeped Thalia out too, the few times she stayed in it." Annabeth added.

**Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.**

**"Zeus and Hera?" I guessed.**

**"Correct," Chiron said.**

**"Their cabins look empty."**

**"Several of the cabins are. That's true. No one ever stays in one or two."**

**Okay. So each cabin had a different god, like a mascot. **

"A mascot Percy?" Leo snorted. He blushed and mumbled something about nothing making sense.

**Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians. But why would some be empty? ****I stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three. ****It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of ****rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor.**

"I can't wait to get back to my cabin." Percy said dreamily.

**I peeked inside the open doorway and ****Chiron said, "Oh, I wouldn't do that!"**

**Before he could pull me back, I caught the salty scent of the interior, like the wind on the ****shore at Montauk. The interior walls glowed like abalone. There were six empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down. **

"So it seems you always had a feeling for who your dad was." Reyna mused.

**But there was no sign anyone had ever slept there. The place felt so sad and lonely, I was glad when Chiron put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Come along, Percy."**

**Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers. ****Number five was bright red—a real nasty paint job, as if the color had been splashed on with ****buckets and fists. The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway, and its eyes seemed to follow me. Inside I could see a bunch of mean-looking kids, both girls and boys, arm wrestling and arguing with each other while rock music blared. **

"My cabin?" I groaned, hoping they'd say no. Percy just nodded his head. "Why why why?"

"And that is why I wasn't very polite to Mars. I didn't get along with Ares or his kids." Percy said, referring to when I was claimed.

**The loudest was a girl maybe thirteen or fourteen. She wore a size XXXL CAMP HALF-BLOOD Tshirt under a camouflage jacket. She zeroed in on me and gave me an evil sneer. She reminded me of Nancy Bobofit, though the camper girl was much bigger and tougher looking, and her hair was long and stringy, and brown instead of red.**

"And I'm related to that?" I asked once more. Percy nodded once more, then grinned as though remembering something pleasant. "Oh goody." I said, rolling my eyes.

**I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves. "We haven't seen any other centaurs,"**

**I observed.**

**"No," said Chiron sadly. "My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I'm afraid. You might ****encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events. But you won't see any here."**

**"You said your name was Chiron. Are you really ..."**

**He smiled down at me. **_**"The **_**Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that? Yes, ****Percy, I am."**

**"But, shouldn't you be dead?"**

"Polite as ever." Hazel laughed.

Percy replied by sticking his tongue out.

"Real mature." She teased.

**Chiron paused, as if the question intrigued him. "I honestly don't know about **_**should **_**be. The**

**truth is, I **_**can't **_**be dead. You see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish ... and I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed."**

"Heck yes he's needed." Leo said.

**I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn't have made my Top Ten ****Things to Wish For list.**

"Mine either." I agreed, followed by Leo, Piper and Grover.

**"Doesn't it ever get boring?"**

**"No, no," he said. "Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring."**

**"Why depressing?"**

**Chiron seemed to turn hard of hearing again.**

"I really hate when he does that." Percy exclaimed.

"Same here." Annabeth said.

**"Oh, look," he said. "Annabeth is waiting for us."**

**The blond girl **

"Still the blond girl? Oh Hades help us." Annabeth groaned.

**I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven.**

"Ah, Hermes. Here we go." She said.

**When we reached her, she looked me over critically, like she was still thinking about how ****much I drooled.**

"I wasn't thinking that. I was trying to figure out who your parent was." She said.

"Poseidon." Percy said cheekily.

"I know that now." She said rolling her eyes.

**I tried to see what she was reading, but I couldn't make out the title. I thought my dyslexia ****was acting up. Then I realized the title wasn't even English. The letters looked Greek to me. I ****mean, literally Greek. **

Leo started laughing and I joined in.

"Dude. That was so bad it was funny." I said. Leo reached across the table to high five me.

**There were pictures of temples and statues and different kinds of columns, like those in an architecture book.**

"You want to be an architect?" I asked. Annabeth blushed.

"She already is." Percy said proudly.

**"Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from ****here?"**

**"Yes, sir."**

**"Cabin eleven," Chiron told me, gesturing toward the doorway. "Make yourself at home."**

**Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular old summer camp cabin, with the ****emphasis on **_**old. **_**The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling. Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it... ?**

"A caduceus." Annabeth said.

**A caduceus.**

"Oh." She blushed.

**Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk ****beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center.**

Leo frowned. "It doesn't look like that now."

"That's because there's now a rule that gods must claim their demigod children once they reach 13." Percy explained.

**Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him they all ****stood and bowed respectfully.**

**"Well, then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Percy. I'll see you at dinner."**

**He galloped away toward the archery range.**

**I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They weren't bowing anymore. They were staring at me, sizing me up. I knew this routine. I'd gone through it at enough schools.**

**"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on."**

**So naturally I tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of myself. **

Everybody started laughing.

"What a Percy thing to do." Annabeth said.

**There were some snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything.**

**Annabeth announced, "Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven.**

**"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.**

**I didn't know what to say, but Annabeth said, "Undetermined."**

**Everybody groaned. ****A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward. **

I noticed that Percy, Annabeth and Grover tensed up. I wonder what their deal with this guy is.

**"Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."**

**The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cool. He was tall and muscular, with shortcropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.**

**"This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I glanced over and ****could've sworn she was blushing. **

"I was not." She said crossly, pulling away from Percy's arms. Percy looked very uncomfortable.

_So this is Luke, Hazel thought, thinking back to dinner._

**She saw me looking, and her expression hardened again. "He's your counselor for now."**

**"For now?" I asked.**

**"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, ****so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."**

**I looked at the tiny section of floor they'd given me. I had nothing to put there to mark it as ****my own, no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag. Just the Minotaur's horn. I thought about setting that down, but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.**

"I'd keep a firm hold on that." Jason suggested.

**I looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and suspicious, some grinning stupidly, ****some eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.**

Percy looked deep in thought. "Could have been Travis and Conner. They are the best thieves at camp."

**"How long will I be here?" I asked.**

**"Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined."**

**"How long will that take?"**

**The campers all laughed.**

**"Come on," Annabeth told me. "I'll show you the volleyball court."**

**"I've already seen it."**

"You made such an idiot of yourself." Annabeth groaned at the memory.

"Yeah. And then I met Clarisse. My day just kept going downhill." Percy said.

**"Come on." She grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside. I could hear the kids of cabin ****eleven laughing behind me. **

**When we were a few feet away, Annabeth said, "Jackson, you have to do better than that."**

**"What?"**

**She rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the ****one."**

**"What's your problem?" I was getting angry now. "All I know is, I kill some bull guy—"**

**"Don't talk like that!" Annabeth told me. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd**

**had your chance?"**

**"To get killed?"**

"Oh my gods. You didn't even realize, oh uh." Jason said trailing off at Percy's glare.

**"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?"**

**I shook my head. "Look, if the thing I fought really was **_**the **_**Minotaur, the same one in the**

**stories ..."**

**"Yes."**

**"Then there's only one."**

**"Yes."**

**"And he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right? Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. So ..."**

**"Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die."**

**"Oh, thanks. That clears it up."**

"And here we go; monster killing one-oh-one." Percy chuckled.

"It's not fair that they come back and we don't." Piper said. Hazel shifted next to me.

**"They don't have souls, like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a ****whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. ****Eventually, they re-form."**

**I thought about Mrs. Dodds. "You mean if I killed one, accidentally, with a sword—"**

**"The Fur ... I mean, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her ****very, very mad."**

"Yeah. She still carries a grudge." Percy grumbled.

"When on earth do you see your ex-math teacher again?" Hazel asked.

"Oh just a friendly family reunion." Percy said darkly.

I motioned at Hazel to just shut it.

**"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?"**

**"You talk in your sleep."**

"Great I talk and drool. Attractive." Percy said dryly.

"I know! Sometimes I wonder about my mental stability." Annabeth joked.

**"You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?"**

**Annabeth glanced nervously at the ground, as if she expected it to open up and swallow her.**

"No that only happens when Nico gets mad." Annabeth chuckled, Percy joining in.

"What about my brother?" Hazel asked.

"You'll see."

"I really hate that answer." She grumbled.

**"You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."**

**"Look, is there anything we **_**can **_**say without it thundering?" I sounded whiny, even to myself, ****but right then I didn't care. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there." ****I pointed to the first few cabins, and Annabeth turned pale. "You don't just choose a cabin,**

**Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or ... your parent."**

"Oh right. I forgot I explained _everything_ to you." Annabeth teased.

**She stared at me, waiting for me to get it.**

**"My mom is Sally Jackson," I said. "She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. ****At least, she used to."**

**"I'm sorry about your mom, Percy. But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other ****parent. Your dad."**

**"He's dead. I never knew him."**

**Annabeth sighed. Clearly, she'd had this conversation before with other kids.**

"Way too many times." She sighed.

"And many more times to come, but I'll help." Percy said.

"I'd like that." She smiled shyly.

I watched them then looked at Hazel. Would we ever be like that?

**"Your father's not dead, Percy."**

**"How can you say that? You know him?"**

**"No, of course not."**

**"Then how can you say—"**

**"Because I know **_**you. **_**You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."**

**"You don't know anything about me."**

**"No?" She raised an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were ****kicked out of a lot of them."**

"Yep." Percy admitted.

**"How—"**

**"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too."**

"Yep."

"Are all Greeks dyslexic and ADHD?" I asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Most Roman demigods are either dyslexic or ADHD, most of the time both." Hazel said.

"And I'm neither." I said glumly.

**I tried to swallow my embarrassment. "What does that have to do with anything?"**

**"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? ****That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD—you're impulsive, ****can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you ****alive.**

"I guess that's why I stink at fighting." I joked. The others laughed as well. But I also meant it. I was only good with archery.

**As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your ****senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing them for what they are."**

**"You sound like ... you went through the same thing?"**

**"Most of the kids here did. If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."**

**"Ambrosia and nectar."**

**"The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a ****normal kid. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood."**

"And now it all makes sense." Percy joked.

Things were way different for the Greeks. for one thing, they didn't have to live with wolves.

**A half-blood.**

**I was reeling with so many questions I didn't know where to start.**

**Then a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!"**

**I looked over. The big girl from the ugly red cabin was sauntering toward us. She had three ****other girls behind her, all big and ugly and mean looking like her, all wearing camo jackets.**

And of course I had the loser relatives. Just my luck. Then I remembered that Percy and I were distantly related. Okay, so they aren't all losers.

**"Clarisse," Annabeth sighed. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"**

**"Sure, Miss Princess," the big girl said. "So I can run you through with it Friday night."**

_**''Erre es korakas!" **_**Annabeth said, which I somehow understood was Greek for 'Go to the ****crows!' though I had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded.**

"It really is." Annabeth agreed. Leaving me wondering what the heck it really meant.

**"You don't stand a chance."**

**"We'll pulverize you," Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Perhaps she wasn't sure she could ****follow through on the threat. She turned toward me. "Who's this little runt?"**

**"Percy Jackson," Annabeth said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares."**

Yep, I got the evil messed up relatives.

"Why are the Greek Ares campers such losers?" I complained.

**I blinked. "Like ... the war god?"**

**Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"**

**"No," I said, recovering my wits. "It explains the bad smell."**

"Sorry sorry." Percy said as I glared at him.

**Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy."**

"Original." Leo said dryly.

**"Percy."**

**"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you."**

**"Clarisse—" Annabeth tried to say.**

**"Stay out of it, wise girl."**

**Annabeth looked pained, but she did stay out of it, and I didn't really want her help. I was the ****new kid. I had to earn my own rep.**

"If you hate the name, why do you let Percy call you it?" Jason asked.

"It's different. And we didn't get along at the beginning."

"Ahem."

"Okay so I didn't like him at the beginning." She revised.

**I handed Annabeth my minotaur horn and got ready to fight, but before I knew it, Clarisse ****had me by the neck and was dragging me toward a cinder-block building that I knew immediately was the bathroom. I was kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before, but this big girl Clarisse had hands like iron. **

"That would be thanks to Ares." Percy grumbled.

"I wish I had those skills." I murmured.

**She dragged me into the girls' bathroom. There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls down the other. It smelled just like any public bathroom, and I was thinking—as much as I **_**could **_**think with Clarisse ripping my hair out—that if this place belonged to the gods, they should've been able to afford classier johns.**

The room filled with laughter.

"Oh Percy." Reyna said, catching her breath.

**Clarisse's friends were all laughing, and I was trying to find the strength I'd used to fight the ****Minotaur, but it just wasn't there.**

**"Like he's 'Big Three' material," Clarisse said as she pushed me toward one of the toilets.**

"What's the Big Three?" Jason asked confusedly.

"You'll see." Percy answered.

Okay, that was getting annoying. I just wanted to know now.

**"Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking."**

"I think he's handsome." Annabeth said, turning to face Percy.

**Her friends snickered. ****Annabeth stood in the corner, watching through her fingers.**

"I was not." Annabeth shouted.

"Well that's what it looked like to me." Percy said.

**Clarisse bent me over on my knees and started pushing my head toward the toilet bowl. It r****eeked like rusted pipes and, well, like what goes into toilets. I strained to keep my head up. I was looking at the scummy water, thinking, I will not go into that. I won't.**

**Then something happened. I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach. I heard the plumbing rumble, ****the pipes shudder. Clarisse's grip on my hair loosened. Water shot out of the toilet, making an arc straight over my head, and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the bathroom tiles with Clarisse screaming behind me.**

"Awesome." Leo cheered with Piper. I secretly felt a rush of pleasure even if she was somehow related to me.

**I turned just as water blasted out of the toilet again, hitting Clarisse straight in the face so ****hard it pushed her down onto her butt. The water stayed on her like the spray from a fire hose, pushing her backward into a shower stall.**

"Take that, and that, and that!" Hazel and I said, pretending to be sprouting water out of our finger tips. The rest of the room laughed at us.

**She struggled, gasping, and her friends started coming toward her. But then the other toilets ****exploded, too, and six more streams of toilet water blasted them back. The showers acted up, too, and together all the fixtures sprayed the camouflage girls right out of the bathroom, spinning them around like pieces of garbage being washed away. ****As soon as they were out the door, I felt the tug in my gut lessen, and the water shut off as ****quickly as it had started. ****The entire bathroom was flooded. Annabeth hadn't been spared. **

"Sorry. I didn't know how to control it." Percy said, cowering under his girlfriends glare.

**She was dripping wet, but she hadn't been pushed out the door. She was standing in exactly the same place, staring at me in shock. ****I looked down and realized I was sitting in the only dry spot in the whole room. There was a ****circle of dry floor around me. I didn't have one drop of water on my clothes. Nothing.**

"Do you get wet at all?" Reyna asked.

"Nope." He said, popping the p. "Well, unless I will myself to get wet."

**I stood up, my legs shaky.**

**Annabeth said, "How did you ..."**

**"I don't know."**

**We walked to the door. Outside, Clarisse and her friends were sprawled in the mud, and a ****bunch of other campers had gathered around to gawk. Clarisse's hair was flattened across her ****face. Her camouflage jacket was sopping and she smelled like sewage. She gave me a look of ****absolute hatred. "You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead."**

"Yet here he is." I said, causing Percy to smile at me.

**I probably should have let it go, but I said, "You want to gargle with toilet water again, ****Clarisse? Close your mouth."**

"Yeah, now you're cocky." Leo rolled his eyes.

**Her friends had to hold her back. They dragged her toward cabin five, while the other ****campers made way to avoid her flailing feet. Annabeth stared at me. I couldn't tell whether she was just grossed out or angry at me for dousing her.**

"Nope; planning."

"Yeah. To get me pummelled." Percy said.

"I was there the whole time." Annabeth protested.

**"What?" I demanded. "What are you thinking?"**

**"I'm thinking," she said, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag."**

Percy glowered at her before grabbing the book. "Chapter seven, **My Dinner Goes Up In Smoke.**"

**A/N The Octavian poll is still on my profile so vote vote vote (and pretty please let me know what you thought of the chapter) **


	8. My Dinner Goes Up In Smoke

**Disclaimer- I own nothing**

**Chapter Seven- My Dinner Goes Up In Smoke**

**Jason POV**

_Percy glowered at her before grabbing the book. "Chapter seven, __**My Dinner Goes Up In Smoke.**__"_

**Word of the bathroom incident spread immediately. Wherever I went, campers pointed at me and murmured something about toilet water. Or maybe they were just staring at Annabeth, who was still pretty much dripping wet.**

"Yeah, 90% sure they were pointing at me. That was disgusting seaweed brain." Annabeth said, wrinkling her nose.

**She showed me a few more places: the metal shop (where kids were forging their own swords), **

"See?" I said to Reyna, who nodded her head. I started envisioning where we would build a metal shop and almost missed Percy start reading again.

**the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goatman),**

"Goatman?" Grover gasped loudly.

"Sorry. I didn't even believe the gods existed, much less who Pan was." Pecy said in surrender.

**and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava, and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough.**

"Oh I like that one." Leo said.

"Because lava doesn't burn you." I muttered, rubbing my heel. I had been just a second too slow.

**Finally we returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins.**

**"I've got training to do," Annabeth said flatly. "Dinner's at seven-thirty. Just follow your cabin to the mess hall."**

**"Annabeth, I'm sorry about the toilets."**

**"Whatever."**

**"It wasn't my fault."**

**She looked at me skeptically, and I realized it was my fault. **

"Well at least you acknowledged that it was your fault." Annabeth grumbled, still grouchy at the reminder.

**I'd made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. I didn't understand how. But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing.**

"One with the plumbing?" Reyna smirked.

**"You need to talk to the Oracle," Annabeth said.**

**"Who?"**

**"Not who. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."**

"I wish I could pummel Octavian right now." Percy grumbled.

"Why?" I asked.

"He implied that oracles are stupid." Percy growled. Yep, not even kidding, he growled.

"Hey! Rachel's the best!" Leo shouted in defence of the Red-haired girl.

**I stared into the lake, wishing somebody would give me a straight answer for once. I wasn't expecting anybody to be looking back at me from the bottom, so my heart skipped a beat when I noticed two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, about twenty feet below. **

"Because I was shocked." Percy said at once.

"I didn't say anything seaweed brain." Annabeth said, an amused look on her face.

**They wore blue jeans and shimmering green T-shirts, and their brown hair floated loose around their shoulders as minnows darted in and out. They smiled and waved as if I were a long-lost friend. ****I didn't know what else to do. I waved back.**

**"Don't encourage them," Annabeth warned. "Naiads are terrible flirts."**

**"Naiads," I repeated, feeling completely overwhelmed. "That's it. I want to go home now."**

**Annabeth frowned. "Don't you get it, Percy? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."**

"Well not the only place." I said, thinking of here, my true home.

**"You mean, mentally disturbed kids?"**

**"I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human."**

**"Half-human and half-what?"**

**"I think you know."**

**I didn't want to admit it, but I was afraid I did. I felt a tingling in my limbs, a sensation I sometimes felt when my mom talked about my dad.**

**"God," I said. "Half-god."**

**Annabeth nodded. "Your father isn't dead, Percy. He's one of the Olympians."**

**"That's ... crazy."**

"Good reaction." Frank said with a chuckle.

**"Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?"**

"Absolutely not." Everyone agreed.

**"But those are just—" I almost said myths again. Then I remembered Chiron's warning that in two thousand years, I might be considered a myth. **

"You already are." Piper pointed out.

"Oh great." Percy groaned.

**"But if all the kids here are half-gods—"**

**"Demigods," Annabeth said. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."**

**"Then who's your dad?"**

**Her hands tightened around the pier railing. I got the feeling I'd just trespassed on a sensitive subject.**

"You had." Annabeth said softly. I wonder what happened to her family.

**"My dad is a professor at West Point," she said. "I haven't seen him since I was very small. He teaches American history."**

**"He's human."**

**"What? You assume it has to be a male god who finds a human female attractive? How sexist is that?"**

**"Who's your mom, then?"**

**"Cabin six."**

"I don't think Percy has an idea what that means." Hazel giggled.

**"Meaning?"**

**Annabeth straightened. "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."**

**Okay, I thought. Why not?**

"So you still thought we were all crazy?" Annabeth asked.

"That or I was on some sort of hidden camera show." Percy shrugged.

**"And my dad?"**

**"Undetermined," Annabeth said, "like I told you before. Nobody knows."**

**"Except my mother. She knew."**

**"Maybe not, Percy. Gods don't always reveal their identities."**

**"My dad would have. He loved her."**

"He did. You were right." Annabeth admitted.

"Annabeth, admitting Percy was right? What has this world come to?" Grover gasped dramatically, causing Annabeth to blush and everyone else to laugh.

**Annabeth gave me a cautious look. She didn't want to burst my bubble. "Maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens.**

**"You mean sometimes it doesn't?"**

"Not anymore. By the way, the new cabins are pretty much all done." Annabeth said, turning to Percy.

**Annabeth ran her palm along the rail. "The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always ... Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Percy. They ignore us."**

"And that is the reason Kronos rose once more." Percy sighed.

**I thought about some of the kids I'd seen in the Hermes cabin, teenagers who looked sullen and depressed, as if they were waiting for a call that would never come. I'd known kids like that at Yancy Academy, shuffled off to boarding school by rich parents who didn't have the time to deal with them. **

I put my arm around Piper; I know that's how she feels about her dad sometimes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Reyna watching us, but Piper needed me now so I ignored her.

**But gods should behave better.**

**"So I'm stuck here," I said. "That's it? For the rest of my life?"**

**"It depends," Annabeth said. "Some campers only stay the summer. If you're a child of Aphrodite or Demeter, you're probably not a real powerful force. **

"Hey." Piper cried.

"Sorry, sorry. I was just saying generally you have less of a smell than Percy or Thalia or Nico or Jason or Hazel." Annabeth said.

**The monsters might ignore you, so you can get by with a few months of summer training and live in the mortal world the rest of the year. But for some of us, it's too dangerous to leave. We're year-rounders.**

"You're a year rounder?" Hazel asked.

"Not anymore." Annabeth grinned.

**In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us. They come to challenge us. Most of the time, they'll ignore us until we're old enough to cause trouble—about ten or eleven years old, but after that, most demigods either make their way here, or they get killed off. **

"So just to get this straight, you have nothing like a wolf house where you learn?" Frank asked.

"No. That's why we satyrs go out searching for demigod children." Grover explained.

**A few manage to survive in the outside world and become famous. Believe me, if I told you the names, you'd know them. Some don't even realize they're demigods. But very, very few are like that."**

**"So monsters can't get in here?"**

**Annabeth shook her head. "Not unless they're intentionally stocked in the woods or specially summoned by somebody on the inside."**

**"Why would anybody want to summon a monster?"**

**"Practice fights. Practical jokes."**

"Or to kill me." Percy grumbled. We all looked at him with questioning looks. (Except for Annabeth and Grover)

**"Practical jokes?"**

**"The point is, the borders are sealed to keep mortals and monsters out. From the outside, mortals look into the valley and see nothing unusual, just a strawberry farm."**

**"So ... you're a year-rounder?"**

**Annabeth nodded. From under the collar of her T-shirt she pulled a leather necklace with five clay beads of different colors. It was just like Luke's, except Annabeth's also had a big gold ring strung on it, like a college ring.**

"It's like your tattoos." Annabeth explained to the other Romans.

**"I've been here since I was seven," she said. "Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college."**

**"Why did you come so young?"**

**She twisted the ring on her necklace. "None of your business."**

**"Oh." I stood there for a minute in uncomfortable silence. "So ... I could just walk out of here right now if I wanted to?"**

"Let's see what would happen." Leo said jokingly.

**"It would be suicide, but you could, with Mr. D's or Chiron's permission. But they wouldn't give permission until the end of the summer session unless ..."**

**"Unless?"**

**"You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time ..."**

"let me guess, you get a quest." I said.

"Yep."

"Lucky. It took me forever to get a quest."

**Her voice trailed off. I could tell from her tone that the last time hadn't gone well.**

**"Back in the sick room," I said, "when you were feeding me that stuff—"**

**"Ambrosia."**

**"Yeah. You asked me something about the summer solstice."**

"What is your Summer Solstice?" Hazel asked.

"It's kinda like your Feast of Fortuna, except it's like a big party for the longest day of daylight all year." Percy explained.

**Annabeth's shoulders tensed. "So you do know something?"**

**"Well... no. Back at my old school, I overheard Grover and Chiron talking about it. Grover mentioned the summer solstice. He said something like we didn't have much time, because of the deadline. What did that mean?"**

**She clenched her fists. "I wish I knew. Chiron and the satyrs, they know, but they won't tell me. Something is wrong in Olympus, something pretty major. Last time I was there, everything seemed so normal."**

**"You've been to Olympus?"**

"Really?" Piper asked.

"Yeah, we there frequently." Percy frowned.

"What?" I asked.

"The last time I was there, it was for the battle and it was in ruins."

"What!" everybody shrieked.

"Annabeth was still in the planning stages." He explained.

"It looks great there now. Well up until the gods locked it down." Annabeth said.

**"Some of us year-rounders—Luke and Clarisse and I and a few others—we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council."**

**"But... how did you get there?"**

**"The Long Island Railroad, of course. You get off at Penn Station. Empire State Building, special elevator to the six hundredth floor." She looked at me like she was sure I must know this already. "You are a New Yorker, right?"**

**"Oh, sure." As far as I knew, there were only a hundred and two floors in the Empire State Building, but I decided not to point that out.**

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

**"Right after we visited," Annabeth continued, "the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble. When you came, I was hoping ... I mean— Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And of course she's got the rivalry with Poseidon.**

Frank groaned.

"I said Ares. He's a big Greek jerk. I don't know about Mars."

"And Posiedon?" I asked, looking at Annabeth and Percy.

"Well, like I said, I didn't like him at first."

"And your mother still hates me." Percy added.

**But, I mean, aside from that, I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something."**

"Until you were claimed." Annabeth chuckled.

"I believe that is when you started calling me seaweed brain." Percy smiled.

"And you picked up wise girl."

**I shook my head. I wished I could help her, but I felt too hungry and tired and mentally overloaded to ask any more questions.**

**"I've got to get a quest," Annabeth muttered to herself. "I'm not too young. If they would just tell me the problem ..."**

**I could smell barbecue smoke coming from somewhere nearby. Annabeth must've heard my stomach growl. She told me to go on, she'd catch me later. I left her on the pier, tracing her finger across the rail as if drawing a battle plan.**

Annabeth blushed. "I was."

**Back at cabin eleven, everybody was talking and horsing around, waiting for dinner. For the first time, I noticed that a lot of the campers had similar features: sharp noses, upturned eyebrows, mischievous smiles. They were the kind of kids that teachers would peg as troublemakers.**

"They are." Piper grumbled. She had 'lost' 20$ to them. Her expression made me chuckle.

**Thankfully, nobody paid much attention to me as I walked over to my spot on the floor and plopped down with my minotaur horn. The counselor, Luke, came over. He had the Hermes family resemblance, too. It was marred by that scar on his right cheek, but his smile was intact.**

"I forgot how he used to smile." Annabeth whispered. Either nobody else heard her, or they chose to do like I did and ignore it.

**"Found you a sleeping bag," he said. "And here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store."**

**I couldn't tell if he was kidding about the stealing part.**

"He wasn't." Grover chuckled.

**I said, "Thanks."**

**"No prob." Luke sat next to me, pushed his back against the wall. "Tough first day?"**

**"I don't belong here," I said. "I don't even believe in gods."**

**"Yeah," he said. "That's how we all started. Once you start believing in them? It doesn't get any easier."**

"And cue the major issue." Percy said.

**The bitterness in his voice surprised me, because Luke seemed like a pretty easygoing guy. He looked like he could handle just about anything.**

"He used too." Annabeth said.

"Okay can you guys talk present day?" Leo asked.

"We have no clue what you're talking about." Frank added.

"It will all be revealed in time." Percy said grimly.

"I really hate that answer." Reyna grumbled.

**"So your dad is Hermes?" I asked.**

**He pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket, and for a second I thought he was going to gut me, but he just scraped the mud off the sole of his sandal. "Yeah. Hermes."**

**"The wing-footed messenger guy."**

**"That's him. Messengers. Medicine. Travelers, merchants, thieves. Anybody who uses the roads. That's why you're here, enjoying cabin eleven's hospitality. Hermes isn't picky about who he sponsors."**

**I figured Luke didn't mean to call me a nobody. He just had a lot on his mind.**

**"You ever meet your dad?" I asked.**

**"Once."**

**I waited, thinking that if he wanted to tell me, he'd tell me. Apparently, he didn't. I wondered if the story had anything to do with how he got his scar.**

"No. That was a quest gone wrong." Annbeth said.

"I know now." Percy rolled his eyes.

**Luke looked up and managed a smile. "Don't worry about it, Percy. The campers here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're extended family, right? We take care of each other."**

"If you guys are all related, how come you two are dating?" Hazel asked.

"Gods don't have DNA so we're not really related. Like you can't date someone with the same godly parent, but me and Percy, different parents so we aren't related."

**He seemed to understand how lost I felt, and I was grateful for that, because an older guy like him—even if he was a counselor—should've steered clear of an uncool middle-schooler like me. But Luke had welcomed me into the cabin. He'd even stolen me some toiletries, which was the nicest thing anybody had done for me all day.**

"Of course. Stealing can lead to bonding." Reyna said dryly.

**I decided to ask him my last big question, the one that had been bothering me all afternoon.**

**"Clarisse, from Ares, was joking about me being 'Big Three' material. Then Annabeth ... twice, she said I might be 'the one.' She said I should talk to the Oracle. What was that all about?"**

**Luke folded his knife. "I hate prophecies."**

"Me too." Percy sighed.

"Me too." The rest of us seven agreed.

**"What do you mean?"**

**His face twitched around the scar. "Let's just say I messed things up for everybody else. The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of the Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn't allowed any more quests. Annabeth's been dying to get out into the world. She pestered Chiron so much he finally told her he already knew her fate. He'd had a prophecy from the Oracle. He wouldn't tell her the whole thing, but he said Annabeth wasn't destined to go on a quest yet. She had to wait until... somebody special came to the camp."**

**"Somebody special?"**

"You're Annabeth's special someone." Hazel teased, causing the two teenagers to blush scarlet.

**"Don't worry about it, kid," Luke said. "Annabeth wants to think every new camper who comes through here is the omen she's been waiting for. Now, come on, it's dinnertime." The moment he said it, a horn blew in the distance. Somehow, I knew it was a conch shell,**

"Somehow eh?" Annabeth said, a smirk on her lips.

"Everything is pointing to you being son of the sea god." Grover agreed.

**even though I'd never heard one before.**

**Luke yelled, "Eleven, fall in!"**

**The whole cabin, about twenty of us,**

"Twenty? Woah! There was like less than ten when we were there." I exclaimed.

**filed into the commons yard. We lined up in order of seniority, so of course I was dead last. Campers came from the other cabins, too, except for the three empty cabins at the end, and cabin eight, which had looked normal in the daytime, but was now starting to glow silver as the sun went down.**

"Diana? I mean Artemis?" Reyna asked. Those of us from camp half-blood nodded.

**We marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other girls came out of the woods— and when I say out of the woods, I mean straight out of the woods. I saw one girl, about nine or ten years old, melt from the side of a maple tree and come skipping up the hill.**

"It's really amusing reading this from your point of view." Leo said chuckling.

**In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads.**

**At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven's was way overcrowded. I had to squeeze on to the edge of a bench with half my butt hanging off.**

**I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who looked just like Mr. D. **

"Yeah, and they aren't punch happy like Dakota." Percy chuckled.

"I thought there was only one." Piper said confused.

"There is now. One of them died in battle." Annabeth said sadly.

**Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur.**

**Annabeth sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, all with her gray eyes and honey-blond hair.**

"But you were the prettiest." Percy whispered in Annabeth's ear.

**Clarisse sat behind me at Ares's table. She'd apparently gotten over being hosed down, because she was laughing and belching right alongside her friends.**

Frank made a face and I bit back a laugh. Poor kid.

**Finally, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"**

**Everybody else raised their glasses. "To the gods!"**

**Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and yes, barbecue! My glass was empty, but Luke said, "Speak to it. Whatever you want-nonalcoholic, of course."**

**I said, "Cherry Coke."**

**The glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid.**

"Now that is cool." Hazel said, impressed.

"Yeah, it's very different from here." Percy chuckled.

"And you have to sit with your cabin?" Reyna asked.

"Yeah." Leo said.

**Then I had an idea. "Blue Cherry Coke."**

**The soda turned a violent shade of cobalt. I took a cautious sip. Perfect.**

"That explains it!" Hazel exclaimed.

"What?" I asked.

"For some bizarre reason, Percy was drinking blue soda at dinner and even he couldn't remember why." Hazel said.

**I drank a toast to my mother. She's not gone, I told myself. Not permanently, anyway. She's in the Underworld. And if that's a real place, then someday...**

**"Here you go, Percy," Luke said, handing me a platter of smoked brisket.**

**I loaded my plate and was about to take a big bite when I noticed everybody getting up, carrying their plates toward the fire in the center of the pavilion. I wondered if they were going for dessert or something.**

**"Come on," Luke told me.**

**As I got closer, I saw that everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest strawberry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll.**

"That's different too. What are you doing" Frank asked.

"Thanking the gods." Grover answered.

**Luke murmured in my ear, "Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell."**

**"You're kidding."**

**His look warned me not to take this lightly, but I couldn't help wondering why an immortal, all-powerful being would like the smell of burning food.**

This caused everybody to laugh.

"It's not quite like that seaweed brain." Annabeth said, reaching up to tousle his hair.

**Luke approached the fire, bowed his head, and tossed in a cluster of fat red grapes. "Hermes."**

**I was next. I wished I knew what god's name to say. Finally, I made a silent plea. Whoever you are, tell me. Please. I scraped a big slice of brisket into the flames. When I caught a whiff of the smoke, I didn't gag. It smelled nothing like burning food. It smelled of hot chocolate and fresh-baked brownies, hamburgers on the grill and wildflowers, and a hundred other good things that shouldn't have gone well together, but did. I could almost believe the gods could live off that smoke.**

"Oh that smelt so good." Percy sighed.

**When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention. Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."**

**A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table.**

"Well at least they win." Frank said glumly.

**"Personally," Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson."**

Percy sighed. "He never gets my name right, or anybody else's. In fact, I think he tries to get our names wrong."

**Chiron murmured something.**

**"Er, Percy Jackson," Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."**

**Everybody cheered. We all headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin led a sing-along. We sang camp songs about the gods and ate s'mores and joked around, and the funny thing was, I didn't feel that anyone was staring at me anymore. I felt that I was home.**

"And I can't wait to do that again." Percy grinned.

**Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag.**

**My fingers curled around the Minotaur's horn. I thought about my mom, but I had good thoughts: her smile, the bedtime stories she would read me when I was a kid, the way she would tell me not to let the bedbugs bite.**

"Awwww." All the girls but Reyna said.

**When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep instantly.**

**That was my first day at Camp Half-Blood.**

**I wish I'd known how briefly I would get to enjoy my new home.**

"Let me guess, quest?" I asked.

Percy nodded, but he had a huge grin on his face.

"Alright, it's your turn Grover." Percy said, passing him the book.

"Chapter eight,** We Capture A Flag**" He read.

**A/N I know I updated yesterday, but today is my birthday and I really wanted to update so I did :P**


	9. We Capture a Flag

**Disclaimer- I own nothing it all belongs to Rick Riordan**

**Chapter Eight- We Capture a Flag**

**Percy POV**

"_Alright, it's your turn Frank." Percy said, passing him the book._

"_Chapter eight,__** We Capture A Flag**__" He read._

**The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don't count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur.**

Yes, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary." Leo chuckled.

**Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird. **

"Very, actually." I said.

"Yeah, it's weird." Piper agreed.

**I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English. After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache.**

"I can get through the whole thing." Annabeth said smugly. I lightly smacked her arm.

**The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something I was good at. Chiron tried to teach me archery, but we found out pretty quick I wasn't any good with a bow and arrow. He didn't complain, even when he had to desnag a stray arrow out of his tail.**

Frank winced.

"Not all of us can hit every freakin target." I grumbled.

**Foot racing? No good either. The wood-nymph instructors left me in the dust. They told me not to worry about it. They'd had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods. But still, it was a little humiliating to be slower than a tree.**

"Very." Piper agreed while the others chuckled.

**And wrestling? Forget it. Every time I got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize me.**

**"There's more where that came from, punk," she'd mumble in my ear.**

**The only thing I really excelled at was canoeing, and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur.**

"You're a spectacular sword fighter." Reyna said. Her praise caused me to blush, and Jason narrowed his eyes at me.

**I knew the senior campers and counselors were watching me, trying to decide who my dad was, but they weren't having an easy time of it. I wasn't as strong as the Ares kids, or as good at archery as the Apollo kids. I didn't have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork or—gods forbid— Dionysus's way with vine plants. **

"Thank the gods." I breathed. Several people smirked.

**Luke told me I might be a child of Hermes, a kind of jack-of all- trades, master of none. **

"Well you and Luke are the best swordsmen." Annabeth said, causing me to grumble. I hated being compared to Luke.

**But I got the feeling he was just trying to make me feel better. He really didn't know what to make of me either. Despite all that, I liked camp. **

"I still do." I said.

"I know. It leaves quite the impression." Leo said.

**I got used to the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night. I would eat dinner with cabin eleven, scrape part of my meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to my real dad. Nothing came. **

"Let me guess. It's so different now because of you." Leo chuckled.

"Er"

"Yes." Annabeth answered for me.

**Just that warm feeling I'd always had, like the memory of his smile. I tried not to think too much about my mom, but I kept wondering: if gods and monsters were real, if all this magical stuff was possible, surely there was some way to save her, to bring her back...**

"I wish I could bring my mom back." Leo said so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

**I started to understand Luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, Hermes. So okay, maybe gods had important things to do. But couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder, or something? Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. Why couldn't my dad, whoever he was, make a phone appear?**

"Oh Percy." Annabeth said sadly.

I knew she was thinking about all the mess that the stupid rules caused. I know she doesn't, but sometimes I fell as though she would have chosen Luke. Maybe it was my inner guinea pig always nervous, or maybe it was the constant memory of when they first met. How she talked about him, how she looked at him... Okay, enough already. I know Annabeth chose me in the end.

_Meanwhile:_

He understood Luke, what if Luke had gotten to him? And he had been on the other side of the war? Luke was hard enough to face in battle; I wouldn't have been able to face my seaweed brain. Annabeth thought to herself.

**Thursday afternoon, three days after I'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I had my first swordfighting lesson. Everybody from cabin eleven gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be our instructor.**

"This will be good." I said, rubbing my hands together, already shoving my insecurities into the back of my mind. Reyna looked at me cautiously.

"Is he alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, he'll be fine." Annabeth answered.

**We started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armor. I guess I did okay. **

"Understatement." Grover coughed.

**At least, I understood what I was supposed to do and my reflexes were good. The problem was, I couldn't find a blade that felt right in my hands. Either they were too heavy, or too light, or too long. Luke tried his best to fix me up, but he agreed that none of the practice blades seemed to work for me.**

"That's because they weren't meant for me." I said smugly, fingering my pen.

**We moved on to dueling in pairs. Luke announced he would be my partner, since this was my first time.**

**"Good luck," one of the campers told me. "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years."**

"And yet, you still manage to beat him." Annabeth boasted proudly, causing me to turn crimson.

**"Maybe he'll go easy on me," I said.**

**The camper snorted.**

**Luke showed me thrusts and parries and shield blocks the hard way. With every swipe, I got a little more battered and bruised.**

"Well that part was not fun. It was downright humiliating." I said frowning.

Frank snorted before continuing on.

**"Keep your guard up, Percy," he'd say, then whap me in the ribs with the flat of his blade. "No, not that far up!" **_**Whap! **_**"Lunge!" **_**Whap! **_**"Now, back!" **_**Whap!**_** By the time he called a break, I was soaked in sweat. Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head, which looked like such a good idea, I did the same.**

"First mistake on his part." Grover chuckled while everyone looked at him funny.

**Instantly, I felt better. Strength surged back into my arms. The sword didn't feel so awkward.**

"Well. That's handy." Jason said.

**"Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo."**

**Great, I thought. Let's all watch Percy get pounded.**

While everyone groaned in sympathy, I just smirked.

**The Hermes guys gathered around. They were suppressing smiles. I figured they'd been in my shoes before and couldn't wait to see how Luke used me for a punching bag. He told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon.**

Jason nodded, and mimed the moves. Reyna grabbed his wrist and put it on his lap, giving him a playful look. Piper just gritted her teeth.

**"This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique."**

"And I did it on my first real try." I said modestly. Okay, so maybe I was a bit smug, but give me a break, I did manage to disarm a college guy, one of the best swordfighters, when I was twelve. On my first real try too!

**He demonstrated the move on me in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of my hand.**

**"Now in real time," he said, after I'd retrieved my weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"**

**I nodded, and Luke came after me. Somehow, I kept him from getting a shot at the hilt of my sword. My senses opened up. I saw his attacks coming. I countered. I stepped forward and tried a thrust of my own. Luke deflected it easily, but I saw a change in his face. His eyes narrowed, and he started to press me with more force.**

**The sword grew heavy in my hand. The balance wasn't right. I knew it was only a matter of seconds before Luke took me down, so I figured, What the heck? I tried the disarming maneuver.**

**My blade hit the base of Luke's and I twisted, putting my whole weight into a downward thrust.**

_**Clang.**_

"Well I'll be." Jason said.

"Even Jay couldn't have done that on his first try." Reyna said, calling Jason by what I guess is her nickname for him. They definitely weren't just colleagues, they reminded me of Annabeth and I. Best friends, in love with each other deep down but won't admit it to anyone, much less ourselves. Hopefully one of them would smarten up before it was too late. But what about Piper? She seemed like a sweet girl and really liked Jason. Ah well, I'm not going to play Aphrodite. They can work it out for themselves.

So absorbed in my thoughts, I almost missed Frank continuing on.

**Luke's sword rattled against the stones. The tip of my blade was an inch from his undefended chest. The other campers were silent.**

I used my finger to draw a tally in the air. "Percy- one, Luke- zip."

**I lowered my sword. "Um, sorry."**

**For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak.**

**"Sorry?" His scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!"**

"And I can't." I said.

**I didn't want to. The short burst of manic energy had completely abandoned me. But Luke insisted. This time, there was no contest. The moment our swords connected, Luke hit my hilt and sent my weapon skidding across the floor. After a long pause, somebody in the audience said, "Beginner's luck?" Luke wiped the sweat off his brow. He appraised at me with an entirely new interest.**

"Do you think he already thought you were a threat? Even before you were claimed?" Annabeth whispered in my ear.

"Yes and yes." I whispered back.

**"Maybe," he said. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword... ."**

"So much more." Hazel said.

**Friday afternoon, I was sitting with Grover at the lake, resting from a near-death experience on the climbing wall. Grover had scampered to the top like a mountain goat, **

Leo opened hi mouth to comment.

"Not a word." Grover hissed.

Leo shut his mouth.

**but the lava had almost gotten me. My shirt had smoking holes in it. The hairs had been singed off my forearms. We sat on the pier, watching the naiads do underwater basket-weaving, until I got up the nerve to ask Grover how his conversation had gone with Mr. D. His face turned a sickly shade of yellow.**

**"Fine," he said. "Just great."**

**"So your career's still on track?"**

**He glanced at me nervously. "Chiron t-told you I want a searcher's license?"**

"A what?" Frank asked.

"It's explained at some point." Grover said vaguely, at the same time Annabeth said "It's when satyrs go searching for the lost god Pan."

**"Well... no." I had no idea what a searcher's license was, but it didn't seem like the right time to ask. "He just said you had big plans, you know ... and that you needed credit for completing a keeper's assignment. So did you get it?"**

**Grover looked down at the naiads. "Mr. D suspended judgment. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete."**

"And we did it. Up top." I said, holding out my hand, which Grover high-fived.

**My spirits lifted. "Well, that's not so bad, right?"**

_**"Blaa-ha-ha! **_**He might as well have transferred me to stable-cleaning duty. The chances of you getting a quest... **

"Pretty high." I said happily.

**and even if you did, why would you want **_**me **_**along?"**

**"Of course I'd want you along!"**

**Grover stared glumly into the water. "Basket-weaving ... Must be nice to have a useful skill."**

**I tried to reassure him that he had lots of talents, but that just made him look more miserable. We talked about canoeing and swordplay for a while, then debated the pros and cons of the different gods. Finally, I asked him about the four empty cabins.**

**"Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," he said. "She vowed to be a maiden forever. So of course, no kids. The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad."**

"Again. The reason for the war. The minor gods didn't have enough recognition." I sighed.

**"Yeah, okay. But the other three, the ones at the end. Are those the Big Three?"**

**Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject. "No. One of them, number two, is Hera's," he said. "That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals. **

Annabeth made a face. "Hate her even more now." She said.

"Why?" I asked. Annabeth blushed a pretty pink.

"She stole you from me." She mumbled.

**That's her husband's job. **

I stifled a chuckle, but I knew I was hopeless when I took a peak at Jason's face. It was priceless. Of course we all knew our parents had no control, but to hear it phrased like that is pretty funny.

**When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos."**

**"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."**

Jason, Hazel and I all cheered for our dads.

**"Right. You know. After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what."**

**"Zeus got the sky," I remembered. "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld."**

"Sea's the best part." I said.

"No the sky is." Jason said.

"Are you mental? You can't even stand in the sky."

"At least you can't get eaten by a shark." Jason retorted. We stared each other down. Then his lips twitched and a chuckle slipped through mine. Everyone looked at the two of us as though we had suddenly turned green and asked them to come back to our spaceship. Only after Frank started reading again, did I realize Hazel had been quiet and said nothing.

**"Uh-huh."**

**"But Hades doesn't have a cabin here."**

**"No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here ..." Grover shuddered. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. Let's leave it at that."**

"Well, Nico's cabin is pretty cool." I said thoughtfully.

"It has all the coolest gadgets." Grover said. "Too bad it reaks like the underground. I can't stand it."

**"But Zeus and Poseidon—they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?"**

**Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, **

Hazel paled at the mention of WWII. Frank, not missing a beat in his reading put a comforting arm around her, and then I remembered, This is when she had died.

**the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx."**

"As if Hades was the only one who actually stuck to the oath." Annabeth said, still not over it.

**Thunder boomed.**

**I said, "That's the most serious oath you can make."**

**Grover nodded.**

**"And the brothers kept their word—no kids?"**

**Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo—he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia **

Jason stiffened. He would hear more about the sister he had never known about. And the mother he could never know.

**.. . well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."**

**"But that isn't fair.' It wasn't the little girl's fault."**

Jason made a face. It's weird hearing about his sister, who he knew to be over the age of 16, being called a 'little girl'.

**Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other halfbloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia. **

Hazel looked at her feet at the mention of her dad.

**A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."**

**He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where I'd fought the minotaur. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. **

"She could have run with us. We could have made it... maybe." Annabeth said sadly.

"Woah, you were with her? And let me guess, Grover was the Satyr?" Frank asked, Annabeth and Grover nodded.

**The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."**

"My sister was a tree?" Jason asked.

We nodded.

"She died? But I just saw her." He protested.

"Because Percy and I went and got the Golden Fleece and it brought her back to life." Annabeth said before I could stop her. Jason sat back in shock. I didn't blame him at all; it would be quite the shocker to learn your sister was a plant.

**I stared at the pine in the distance. The story made me feel hollow, and guilty too. A girl my age had sacrificed herself to save her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters. Next to that, my victory over the Minotaur didn't seem like much. I wondered, if I'd acted differently, could I have saved my mother?**

**"Grover," I said, "have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?"**

**"Sometimes," he said. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini."**

**"And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?"**

**"No. Never. Orpheus came close... . Percy, you're not seriously thinking—"**

**"No," I lied. **

"Do you need lying lessons too?" Annabeth asked.

"No." I said, at the same time Grover said "Yes."

**"I was just wondering. So ... a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"**

**Grover studied me warily. I hadn't persuaded him that I'd really dropped the Underworld idea.**

**"Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. **

"And you are a great hero." Hazel said sweetly, causing me to blush as everyone agreed.

**If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems."**

"You have." Nearly everyone chorused.

**"And you found me. Chiron said you thought I might be something special."**

**Grover looked as if I'd just led him into a trap. "I didn't... Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you **_**were**_**—you know—you'd never **_**ever **_**be allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license. You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?"**

I sighed quietly. A child of Hermes, and a child of Nemesis. Both foght for Kronos, yet in the end, both were true heroes.

**I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than me. That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual. At last, it was time for capture the flag.**

I bit back a groan, everyone would see me get pummelled. Then I smiled, a right, I didn't get pummelled.

The Romans leant forward, eager to hear about capture the flag. Would it remind them of their war games?

**When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and we all stood at our tables. Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.**

"I think I like Annabeth's banner better." Frank swallowed.

**I turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"**

**"Yeah."**

**"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"**

**"Not always," he said. "But often."**

**"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do— repaint the flag?"**

"Oh Percy." Annabeth said, shaking her head in amusement.

"You know, the words 'give me a break' are starting to get annoying." I said.

Meanwhile the campers who had never played capture the flag at camp half-blood waited curiously to see what we would do with the banners.

**He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one."**

**"Whose side are we on?"**

**He gave me a sly look, as if he knew something I didn't. The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight. "We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And **_**you **_**are going to ****help."**

"Yeah great plan Annabeth." I grumbled.

"Will you stop saying that?" She demanded. "I was there the whole time. It worked anyways."

**The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. Apparently, privileges had been traded—shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities—in order to win support. Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. **

"Looks like we're together Piper." Leo joked, nudging her arm till she smiled.

**From what I'd seen, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them. Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive. Aphrodite's sons and daughters I wasn't too worried about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped.**

Piper put her head in her hands. "Of course they did." She moaned.

**Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, **

"Hey! I happen to have a very pretty face." Leo said, faking outrage and making us all laugh.

**and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem. **

"Well of course we are. Have fun with our traps." Leo said. I looked at him. Yep, definitely a true Hephaestus kid. He had only been with his cabin for a couple of months, maybe less and he already had their battle strategies down to a 'T'.

**That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet.**

"Yay." Frank said without enthusiasm. "Am I ever glad I'm Roman and not Greek."

**Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.**

**"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"**

"You don't even have a sword." Piper said warily.

**He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal.**

**"Whoa," I said. "We're really supposed to use these?"**

**Luke looked at me as if I were crazy. **

"Sheesh. I would think you would at least guess, with everything everyone's told you, that you would use weapons." Piper added.

**"Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here—Chiron thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol."**

**My shield was the size of an NBA backboard, with a big caduceus in the middle. It weighed about a million pounds. I could have snowboarded on it fine, but I hoped nobody seriously expected me to run fast. My helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top. Ares and their allies had red plumes.**

"Oh gods. I did look as stupid as Nico did." I groaned.

"Nah, it was... cute." Annabeth smirked.

**Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"**

**We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north. I managed to catch up with Annabeth without tripping over my equipment. "Hey." She kept marching.**

"Oh rejected." Grover chuckled as I made a face at him.

**"So what's the plan?" I asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"**

**Her hand drifted toward her pocket, as if she were afraid I'd stolen something.**

"What?" Hazel asked confusedly.

"You'll see, soon." Annabeth answered.

**"Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"**

**"Border patrol, whatever that means."**

**"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."**

"Is it just me or have you said that a lot throughout the years?" I asked.

"It's true. Athena always-" She said.

"Don't finish that sentence!" I interrupted.

**She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust.**

**"Okay," I mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team."**

"My plan was foolproof." Annabeth said for the umpteenth time.

"I still got pummelled." I said crossly.

"Well, I did say _fool_proof." She smirked, everybody else laughing. I just opened my mouth; I had no comeback for that. Annabeth patted my cheek.

"Poor seaweed brain. I guess I'll stop picking on you." I rolled my eyes and she giggled. "That bad of a lie eh?" she chuckled. I fake pouted as everyone continued laughing.

**It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view**_**. **_**Annabeth stationed me next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of****the team scattered into the trees.****Standing there alone, with my big blue-feathered helmet and my huge shield, I felt like an****idiot. **

"And I looked like one too." I said. A couple people let out a small chuckle, while the others smirked. Oh gods, why do we have to read these books?

**The bronze sword, like all the swords I'd tried so far, seemed balanced wrong. The leather****grip pulled on my hand like a bowling ball.****There was no way anybody would actually attack me, would they? I mean, Olympus had to****have liability issues, right?**

"Nope." Annabeth said with a grimace. I realized she was thinking about all the campers who had died during the battles, and pulled her closer to me.

**Far away, the conch horn blew. I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal,****kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past me like a deer, leaped through the****creek, and disappeared into enemy territory.**

**Great, I thought. I'll miss all the fun, as usual.**

"I take it back. I have enough...fun." I said quickly.

**Then I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by. I raised my shield instinctively; I had the feeling something was stalking me. **

Annabeth paled. "Percy." She gasped.

I looked at her, silently asking if she had already been watching me. Understanding, Annabeth shook her head.

**Then the growling stopped. I felt the presence retreating. On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark.**

**"Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed.**

"Ah. I understand now. Your plan is to get Percy pummelled. But where are you?" Jason asked Annabeth.

**Her ugly pig eyes glared through the slits of her helmet. She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords—not that that made me feel any better. They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight. **

"Yeah, definitely not in _sight_." Annabeth smirked.

**I could run. Or I could defend myself against half the Ares cabin. I managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid the Minotaur. They surrounded me, and Clarisse thrust at me with her spear. My shield deflected the point, but I felt a painful tingling all over my body. My hair stood on end. My shield arm went numb, and the air burned.**

"Electric." Jason said immediately, then he slumped down, remembering that his weapon had broken.

**Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric. I fell back. Another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword and I hit the dirt. They could've kicked me into jelly, but they were too busy laughing.**

**"Give him a haircut," Clarisse said. "Grab his hair."**

I involuntarily ran my hand through my hair and shuddered.

**I managed to get to my feet. I raised my sword, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear as sparks flew. Now both my arms felt numb.**

**"Oh, wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared."**

**"The flag is that way," I told her. I wanted to sound angry, but I was afraid it didn't come out that way.**

"Percy!" Everyone groaned. I immediately went defensive.

"I could barely fight and suddenly had all these war god kids attacking me. I didn't care if we lost." Everybody just shook their heads and Frank continued reading.

**"Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."**

"They didn't need my help." I snorted.

**"You do that without my help," I told them. **

I laughed along with everybody else.

"Well you don't change much." Frank joked.

**It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say.**

"No it was not." Annabeth said, still laughing.

**Two of them came at me. I backed up toward the creek, tried to raise my shield, but Clarisse was too fast. Her spear stuck me straight in the ribs. If I hadn't been wearing an armoured breastplate, I would've been shish-ke-babbed. As it was, the electric point just about shocked my teeth out of my mouth. One of her cabin mates slashed his sword across my arm, leaving a good size cut.**

"Step in any time wise girl." I said. Annabeth shook her head. And mumbled something that sounded like 'your fight' but I couldn't be sure.

**Seeing my own blood made me dizzy—warm and cold at the same time.**

**"No maiming," I managed to say.**

**"Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege."**

"You **need** stronger punishments." Reyna said, raising an eyebrow.

**He pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash. They all laughed. I figured as soon as they were through being amused, I would die. But then something happened. The water seemed to wake up my senses, as if I'd just had a bag of my mom's double-espresso jelly beans.**

"Ah. I love this power." I said smugly, causing Annabeth to hit me.

**Clarisse and her cabin mates came into the creek to get me, but I stood to meet them. I knew what to do. I swung the flat of my sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. I hit him so hard I could see his eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water. **

Several people winced.

**Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me. I slammed one in the face with my shield and used my sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. **

Somebody chuckled and we all stared at Leo. "Sorry, sorry. Must have looked freakin stupid though." He snickered again and we rolled our eyes.

**Both of them backed up quick. Ugly Number Four didn't look really anxious to attack, but Clarisse kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust, I caught the shaft between the edge of my shield and my sword, and I snapped it like a twig.**

"Oh she's so gonna kill you." Piper said.

**"Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"**

"No, that's Nico." Annabeth said venomously. I suppose this means she hadn't forgotten the whole 'I don't know you, my names Nico' Crap he pulled when I got to camp. He better run once we find him.

**She probably would've said worse, but I smacked her between the eyes with my sword-butt and sent her stumbling backward out of the creek.**

"Ah good memories." I sighed blissfully.

**Then I heard yelling, elated screams, and I saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.**

Frank and Leo both groaned at their cabins defeat. Piper stayed silent, her cabin hadn't even tried.

**"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."**

**They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. Our side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven. **

"Sweet." Hazel cheered.

**Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn. The game was over. We'd won. I was about to join the celebration when Annabeth's voice, right next to me in the creek, said,**

**"Not bad, hero."**

**I looked, but she wasn't there.**

**"Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" **

"The magic water." I said with a straight face.

**she asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head.**

"That's so cool!" Frank said.

**I felt myself getting angry. I wasn't even fazed by the fact that she'd just been invisible. "You set me up," I said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."**

Some things never change." Annabeth said playfully.

**Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."**

"Some things never change." I mimicked.

**"A plan to get me pulverized."**

"More like pummelled." Leo said.

"Or killed." Frank added.

"Or obliterated."

"Or annihilated."

"Will you two shut up?" Reyna and Jason shouted together.

**"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but ..." She shrugged. "You didn't need help."**

**Then she noticed my wounded arm. "How did you do that?"**

**"Sword cut," I said. "What do you think?"**

**"No. It **_**was **_**a sword cut. Look at it."**

**The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As I watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared.**

**"I—I don't get it," I said.**

**Annabeth was thinking hard. I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at my feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy."**

"Awww. I like the water." I joked.

"Just do as I say seaweed brain." Annabeth answered playfully.

**"What—"**

**"Just do it."**

**I came out of the creek and immediately felt bone tired. My arms started to go numb again. My adrenaline rush left me. I almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied me.**

"Well that sucks." Jason said.

"Thanks for pointing that out Captain Obvious." Leo teased.

**"Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is **_**not **_**good. I didn't want ... I assumed it would be Zeus... ."**

"Why Zeus?" Jason asked, narrowing his eyes. "Because he had already fallen off the wagon before?"

"Partially." Annabeth admitted honestly. "Also because Percy had a strong personality, and was very much like Thalia. And Athena really can't stand Poseidon."

**Before I could ask what she meant, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest. The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I would realize, only later, I had understood perfectly: **_**"Stand ready! My bow!"**_** Annabeth drew her sword.**

"I thought you used a dagger?" Hazel asked confused.

"I do, but in Capture the Flag, I like to have a long weapon as well as my weapon." She explained.

**There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers. It was looking straight at me.**

"Aww Hades." Grover groaned. "I forgot about this."

**Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!"**

**She tried to step in front of me, **

"I'll always look out for you seaweed brain." She whispered. I kissed the top of her head.

"And I for you."

**but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her—an enormous shadow with teeth—and just as it hit me, as I stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through my armor, **

Several people winced, while Hazel shrieked "Get in the Water!"

**there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hounds neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at my feet.**

"Not bad." Frank said approvingly.

**By some miracle, I was still alive. I didn't want to look underneath the ruins of my shredded armor. My chest felt warm and wet, and I knew I was badly cut. Another second, and the monster would've turned me into a hundred pounds of delicatessen meat. Chiron trotted up next to us, a bow in his hand, his face grim.**

_**"Di immortales!" **_**Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't ... they're not supposed to ..."**

**"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."**

"The last thing you need is a bad guy at camp." Reyna said. Annabeth, Grover and I exchanged looks.

**Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.**

**Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"**

"That makes perfect sense." Annabeth said sarcastically.

**"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her.**

**We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared.**

**"You're wounded," Annabeth told me. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."**

**"I'm okay."**

**"No, you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."**

**I was too tired to argue. I stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around me. Instantly, I felt better. I could feel the cuts on my chest closing up. Some of the campers gasped.**

"Yes yes, I'm sure it's fascinating." Leo said impatiently.

**"Look, I—I don't know why," I said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry..."**

**But they weren't watching my wounds heal. They were staring at something above my head.**

"Um what?" Jason asked.

**"Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um ..."**

**By the time I looked up, the sign was already fading, but I could still make out the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident.**

"You've been claimed. Dun-dun-dun..." Grover said dramatically.

**"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is **_**really **_**not good."**

**"It is determined," Chiron announced.**

**All around me, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.**

I stuck my tongue out.

"Percy?" Reyna asked.

"Oh." I blushed. "Well, they had to bow down to me and just never mind..."

**"My father?" I asked, completely bewildered.**

**"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea ****God."**

"Dramatic." Leo said. "Kinda like you beauty queen." Piper rolled her eyes.

Frank passed the book to Hazel.

"Wait! One more chapter before bed." Reyna said. We agreed and Hazel started to read.

"Chapter nine, **I am offered a Quest**."

A/N Okay, for some reason this chapter was excessively hard to write. Don't know why but know it's finally done! Please review and let me know what you thought :) Have a lovely rest of the week.


	10. I am Offered a Quest

**A/N Wow I am so sorry. But I'm positive you don't want to hear my excuses so just one thing before the chapter. I would like to thank greekgirl211 for sending me the typed chapters. It's thanks to her that this chapter is finally up :)**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing. Percy Jackson belongs to Rick Riordan**

**Chapter Nine- I Am Offered a Quest **

**Percy POV**

_Frank passed the book to Hazel._

"_Wait! One more chapter before bed." Reyna said. We agreed and Hazel started to read._

"_Chapter nine, **I****am****offered****a****Quest**." _

**The next morning, Chiron moved me to cabin three.**

**I didn't have to share with anybody. I had plenty of room for all my stuff: the Minotaur's horn, one set of spare clothes, and a toiletry bag. I got to sit at my own dinner table, pick all my own activities, call "lights out" whenever I felt like it, and not listen to anybody else.**

"And you were absolutely miserable." Jason sighed, thinking about his short stay in Cabin One.

Hazel gave me a pointed look, then smirked at Jason.

**And I was absolutely miserable.**

"Yep." Jason said.

**Just when I'd started to feel accepted, to feel I had a home in cabin eleven and I might be a normal kid—or as normal as you can be when you're a half-blood—I'd been separated out as if I had some rare disease.**

"You do." Annabeth said grinning. I looked at her. What on earth is she talking about. "It's called seaweed brain-it is. Gives you kelp head and makes you make really bad decisions in battle." She said, causing everyone to laugh.

Har dee har har, Very funny wise girl.

**Nobody mentioned the hellhound, but I got the feeling they were all talking about it behind my back.**

"Yeah, how did it get in?" Jason asked.

**The attack had scared everybody. It sent two messages: one; that I was the son of the Sea God; and two, monsters would stop at nothing to kill me. They could even invade a camp that had always been considered safe.**

"Oh Percy, destroying camp." Leo joked, shaking his head mournfully.

**The other campers steered clear of me as much as possible. Cabin eleven was too nervous to have sword class with me after what I'd done to the Ares folks in the woods, so my lessons with Luke became one-on-one. He pushed me harder than ever, and wasn't afraid to bruise me up in the process.**

**"You're going to need all the training you can get," he promised, as we were working with swords and flaming torches. "Now let's try that viper-beheading strike again. Fifty more repetitions."**

"I hated that." I scowled.

"But it helped… in the end…" Annabeth said, trailing off at the end.

**Annabeth still taught me Greek in the mornings, but she seemed distracted. Every time I said something, she scowled at me, as if I'd just poked her between the eyes.**

**After lessons, she would walk away muttering to herself: "Quest ... Poseidon? ... Dirty rotten ... Got to make a plan …"**

Everybody laughed as Annabeth blushed.

"You had to be a son of Poseidon didn't you?" then she shook her head and smiled a dazzling smile. "I'm glad you are Percy. I love you just the way you are." I smiled and kissed her softly.

"Ehem. The rest of us would like to get on reading." Grover said, gesturing at Hazel who was looking at us then back to the book, then at the sun dial in the front of the room.

"Sorry." I muttered as Annabeth and I blushed bright red.

**Even Clarisse kept her distance, though her venomous looks made it clear she wanted to kill me for breaking her magic spear. I wished she would just yell or punch me or something. I'd rather get into fights every day than be ignored.**

"Don't pick fights un less you can win." Reyna said sternly, although she smiled at the end.

**I knew somebody at camp resented me, because one night I came into my cabin and found a mortal newspaper dropped inside the doorway, a copy of the _New__York__Daily__News,_opened to the Metro page. The article took me almost an hour to read, because the angrier I got, the more the words floated around on the page.**

"That's unfortunate." Frank said.

_**BOY AND MOTHER STILL MISSING AFTER**_

_**FREAK CAR ACCIDENT**_

_**BY EILEEN SMYTHE**_

_**Sally Jackson and son Percy are still missing one week after their mysterious disappearance. The family's badly burned '78 Camaro was discovered last Saturday on a north Long Island road with the roof ripped off and the front axle broken.**_

_**The car had flipped and skidded for several hundred feet before exploding.**_

"Good thing that didn't happen when we were inside." Grover said, paling to an ash white colour.

_**Mother and son had gone for a weekend vacation to Montauk, but left hastily, under mysterious circumstances. Small traces of blood were found in the car and near the scene of the wreck, but there were no other signs of the missing Jacksons. **_

"Who's blood?" Annabeth asked alarmed. I looked at my arms then thought back to that night.

"Probably mine. Just tiny scrapes." I said shrugging.

_**Residents in the rural area reported seeing nothing unusual around the time of the accident.**_

_**Ms. Jackson's husband, Gabe Ugliano, claims that his stepson, Percy Jackson, is a troubled child who has been kicked out of numerous boarding schools and has expressed violent tendencies in the past.**_

"I hate that guy." Several people growled. I clenched my fists. That guy got what he deserved.

_**Police would not say whether son Percy is a suspect in his mother's disappearance, but they have not ruled out foul play. Below are recent pictures of Sally Jackson and Percy. Police urge anyone with information to call the following toll-free crime-stoppers hotline.**_

**The phone number was circled in black marker.**

**I wadded up the paper and threw it away, then flopped down in my bunk bed in the middle of my empty cabin.**

**"Lights out," I told myself miserably.**

**That night, I had my worst dream yet.**

"You always do." Grover said.

"What can I say? It's a gift." I chuckled.

**I was running along the beach in a storm. This time, there was a city behind me. Not New York. The sprawl was different: buildings spread farther apart, palm trees and low hills in the distance.**

**About a hundred yards down the surf, two men were fighting. They looked like TV wrestlers, muscular, with beards and long hair. Both wore flowing Greek tunics, one trimmed in blue, the other in green. **

"TV wrestlers? Really?" Annabeth asked, raising her eyebrows. I groaned, remembering what happened next.

"Just wait, it gets better."

**They grappled with each other, wrestled, kicked and head-butted, and every time they connected, lightning flashed, the sky grew darker, and the wind rose.**

**I had to stop them. I didn't know why. But the harder I ran, the more the wind blew me back, until I was running in place, my heels digging uselessly in the sand.**

"Always happens in dreams. 'Course I'm usually running for something like food, or a cute girls phone number. Although…" Leo trailed off thoughtfully.

**Over the roar of the storm, I could hear the blue-robed one yelling at the green-robed one, _Give__it__back!__Give__it__back!_Like a kindergartner fighting over a toy.**

There was a beat of silence before everyone started laughing.

"Oh my Zeus. Percy! Strangest dreams ever." Frank said, gasping before each sentence.

"They get weirder." I said, glancing at Grover.

**The waves got bigger, crashing into the beach, spraying me with salt.**

**I yelled, _Stop__it!__Stop__fighting!_**

**The ground shook. Laughter came from somewhere under the earth, and a voice so deep and evil it turned my blood to ice_._**

**_Come__down,__little__hero,_the voice crooned. _Come__down!_**

"Is- is that my dad?" Hazel asked, appalled.

"No. We thought it was." Annabeth blurted out before I could stop her. "Sorry Percy, but I thought she should know that so she doesn't' feel bad every time we hate on Hades in this book." I nodded, I wouldn't want Hazel to feel bad about her parentage, especially not after all she's been through.

**The sand split beneath me, opening up a crevice straight down to the center of the earth. My feet slipped, and darkness swallowed me.**

**I woke up, sure I was falling.**

**I was still in bed in cabin three. My body told me it was morning, but it was dark outside, and thunder rolled across the hills. A storm was brewing. I hadn't dreamed that.**

**I heard a clopping sound at the door, a hoof knocking on the threshold.**

**"Come in?"**

**Grover trotted inside, looking worried. "Mr. D wants to see you."**

**"Why?"**

**"He wants to kill... I mean, I'd better let him tell you."**

"Grover." Piper said, smacking her forehead with her hand.

"Yeah buddy, that made me so freaked out." I said.

**Nervously, I got dressed and followed, sure that I was in huge trouble.**

**For days, I'd been half expecting a summons to the Big House. Now that I was declared a son of Poseidon, one of the Big Three gods who weren't supposed to have kids, I figured it was a crime for me just to be alive.**

"It was. How about you Jason?" I asked.

"Nah, not really. I mean sure, some people treated me different as I was the only Jupiter kid, but remember, here your parent doesn't really matter."

**The other gods had probably been debating the best way to punish me for existing, and now Mr. D was ready to deliver their verdict.**

**Over Long Island Sound, the sky looked like ink soup coming to a boil. A hazy curtain of rain was coming in our direction. I asked Grover if we needed an umbrella.**

**"No," he said. "It never rains here unless we want it to."**

**I pointed at the storm. "What the heck is that, then?"**

**He glanced uneasily at the sky. "It'll pass around us. Bad weather always does."**

**I realized he was right. In the week I'd been here, it had never even been overcast. The few rain clouds I'd seen had skirted right around the edges of the valley.**

**But this storm ... this one was huge.**

**At the volleyball pit, the kids from Apollo's cabin were playing a morning game against the satyrs. Dionysus's twins were walking around in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow. Everybody was going about their normal business, but they looked tense. They kept their eyes on the storm.**

I shuddered. I hated that I brought the storm to camp.

**Grover and I walked up to the front porch of the Big House. Dionysus sat at the pinochle table in his tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt with his Diet Coke, just as he had on my first day. Chiron sat across the table in his fake wheel chair. They were playing against invisible opponents-two sets of cards hovering in the air.**

**"Well, well," Mr. D said without looking up. "Our little celebrity."**

**I waited.**

"Smart… for once." Annabeth teased.

**"Come closer," Mr. D said. "And don't expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father."**

**A net of lightning flashed across the clouds. Thunder shook the windows of the house.**

**"Blah, blah, blah," Dionysus said.**

"The gods are always listening." Piper said in a loud whisper.

**Chiron feigned interest in his pinochle cards. Grover cowered by the railing, his hooves clopping back and forth.**

**"If I had my way," Dionysus said, "I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this cursed camp: to keep you little brats safe from harm."**

"Spontaneous combustion is a form of harm." Annabeth said.

**"Spontaneous combustion _is_a form of harm, Mr. D," Chiron put in.**

"Freaky." Grover chuckled.

**"Nonsense," Dionysus said. "Boy wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead, sending you back to your father."**

"I'd prefer if you don't because then I won't be able to finally get together with Annabeth." I said, sticking my tongue out at the book.

**"Mr. D—" Chiron warned.**

**"Oh, all right," Dionysus relented. "There's one more option. But it's deadly foolishness." Dionysus rose, and the invisible players' cards dropped to the table. "I'm off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I'll turn him into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson, if you're at all smart, you'll see that's a much more sensible choice than what Chiron feels you must do."**

"What is it?" Leo asked seriously.

**Dionysus picked up a playing card, twisted it, and it became a plastic rectangle. A credit card? No. A security pass.**

**He snapped his fingers.**

**The air seemed to fold and bend around him. He became a hologram, then a wind, then he was gone, leaving only the smell of fresh-pressed grapes lingering behind.**

**Chiron smiled at me, but he looked tired and strained. "Sit, Percy, please. And Grover."**

**We did.**

"What did you want to stay standing?" Grover asked me.

"Of course not. I was just thinking, oh never mind." I said.

**Chiron laid his cards on the table, a winning hand he hadn't gotten to use.**

**"Tell me, Percy," he said. "What did you make of the hellhound?"**

"I have a pet hellhound named Mrs. O'Leary who likes to be cuddled." Grover said in a bad impersonation of me. The kids from Camp Jupiter laughed, then stopped when they saw we weren't.

"Are you serious?" Reyna asked.

**Just hearing the name made me shudder.**

**Chiron probably wanted me to say, _Heck,__it__was__nothing.__I__eat__hellhounds__for__breakfast._**

**But I didn't feel like lying.**

**"It scared me," I said. "If you hadn't shot it, I'd be dead."**

**"You'll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you're done."**

"Oh goody." I said sarcastically.

**"Done ... with what?"**

**"Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?"**

**I glanced at Grover, who was crossing his fingers.**

**"Um, sir," I said, "you haven't told me what it is yet."**

"Yes sir, why would you do that? I might actually be smart and decline." I grumbled.

**Chiron grimaced. "Well, that's the hard part, the details."**

**Thunder rumbled across the valley. The storm clouds had now reached the edge of the beach. As far as I could see, the sky and the sea were boiling together.**

**"Poseidon and Zeus," I said. "They're fighting over something valuable ... something that was stolen, aren't they?"**

**Chiron and Grover exchanged looks.**

**Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair. "How did you know that?"**

"Dream of course." I answered.

"Well this explanation is better." Grover said.

"Which I will read if you two stay quiet." Hazel smirked.

**My****face****felt****hot.****I****wished****I****hadn't****opened****my****big****mouth.****"The****weather****since****Christmas****has****been****weird,****like****the****sea****and****the****sky****are****fighting.****Then****I****talked****to****Annabeth,****and****she'd****overheard****something****about****a****theft.** **And****...****I've****also****been****having****these****dreams."**

**"I knew it," Grover said.**

I raised an eyebrow.

"Okay well I guessed it. Most demigods do have dreams about their quests, and this was definitely your quest." Grover hastily explained.

**"Hush, satyr," Chiron ordered.**

**"But it is his quest!" Grover's eyes were bright with excitement. "It must be!"**

**"Only the Oracle can determine." Chiron stroked his bristly beard. "Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."**

**I laughed nervously. "A _what_?"**

**"Do not take this lightly," Chiron warned. "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second-grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives."**

**"Oh."**

"So that's what you meant when you said 'that's not what it looks like' when we went to see Octavian." Hazel said in realization and I nodded in confirmation.

**"Zeus's master bolt," Chiron said, getting worked up now. "The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."**

Leo whistled. "Wow."

**"And it's missing?"**

**"Stolen," Chiron said.**

**"By who?"**

**"By _whom_," Chiron corrected.**

**Once a teacher, always a teacher.**

**"By you."**

**My mouth fell open.**

Everybody chuckled.

"Good job Perce." Jason said.

**"At least"—Chiron held up a hand—"that's what Zeus thinks. During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an argument. The usual nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best,' Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters,' etcetera. Afterward, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon. Now, a god cannot usurp another god's symbol of power directly—that is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws. But Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it."**

**"But I didn't—"**

**"Patience and listen, child," Chiron said. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives Poseidon some influence over the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt, and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne.**

**The only thing Zeus wasn't sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his son. You were in New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief."**

**"But I've never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!"**

"Don't call the Lord of the Sky C-R-A-Z-Y." Annabeth advised.

"Thanks tips." I said, rolling my eyes.

**Chiron and Grover glanced nervously at the sky. The clouds didn't seem to be parting around us, as Grover had promised. They were rolling straight over our valley, sealing us in like a coffin lid.**

**"Er, Percy ...?" Grover said. "We don't use the _c_-word to describe the Lord of the Sky."**

"At least Grover agrees with me." Annabeth said.

**"Perhaps _paranoid,"_Chiron suggested. "Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your final exam..." He looked at me as if he actually expected me to remember question thirty-eight.**

"He probably did." Reyna chuckled. She may not like centaurs, or certain Greek campers, but she found this once centaur endearing.

**How could anyone accuse me of stealing a god's weapon? I couldn't even steal a slice of pizza from Gabe's poker party without getting busted. Chiron was waiting for an answer.**

**"Something about a golden net?" I guessed. "Poseidon and Hera and a few other gods ... they, like, trapped Zeus and wouldn't let him out until he promised to be a better ruler, right?"**

"Hardly only Poseidon's fault." I grumbled.

**"Correct," Chiron said. "And Zeus has never trusted Poseidon since. Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt. He took great offense at the accusation. The two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you've come along—the proverbial last straw."**

**"But I'm just a kid!"**

**"Percy," Grover cut in, "if you were Zeus, and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then your brother suddenly admitted he had broken the sacred oath he took after World War II, that he's fathered a new mortal hero who might be used as a weapon against you... Wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"**

"Yes." Jason said, partly to defend his dad, and partly because if all this happened, he wouldn't be a happy camper.

**"But I didn't do anything. Poseidon—my dad—he didn't really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"**

**Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June twenty-first, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date. I hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia would make the two brothers see sense. But your arrival has inflamed Zeus's temper. Now neither god will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"**

**"Bad?" I guessed.**

"Uh duh." Reyna said.

**"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight."**

**"Bad," I repeated.**

"Oh seaweed brain." Annabeth chuckled.

**"And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath."**

I swallowed. "Well. Thank the gods that never happened."

**It started to rain. Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky.**

**_I_had brought this storm to Half-Blood Hill. Zeus was punishing the whole camp because of me. I was furious.**

"Stupid zeus." I muttered. Distant thunder sounded. "Oh sure, close Olympus, yet when anyone mentions a thing about you, you just happen to be listening." It didn't thunder again.

**"So I have to find the stupid bolt," I said. "And return it to Zeus."**

**"What better peace offering," Chiron said, "than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"**

**"If Poseidon doesn't have it, where is the thing?"**

**"I believe I know." Chiron's expression was grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago ... well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."**

**"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?"**

**"Because if I did, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge."**

**I swallowed. "Good reason."**

"Excellent, marvelous, fantastic reason. I definitely would not have gone." I said.

**"You agree then?"**

**I looked at Grover, who nodded encouragingly.**

**Easy for him. I was the one Zeus wanted to kill.**

"It was an easy decision." Grover said cheerfully.

**"All right," I said. "It's better than being turned into a dolphin."**

**"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Percy Jackson, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."**

"Rachel's nice." Piper said, confused.

"This was the oracle before Rachel. There was a curse and never mind, it'll be explained." Annabeth said.

**Four****flights****up,****the****stairs****ended****under****a****green****trap****door.** **I****pulled****the****cord.****The****door****swung****down,****and****a****wooden****ladder****clattered****into****place.** **The****warm****air****from****above****smelled****like****mildew****and****rotten****wood****and****something****else****...****a****smell****I****remembered****from****biology****class.****Reptiles.****The****smell****of****snakes.**

"Eww." Piper said, wrinkling her nose.

**I held my breath and climbed.**

**The****attic****was****filled****with****Greek****hero****junk:****armor****stands****covered****in****cobwebs;****once-bright****shields****pitted****with****rust;****old****leather****steamer****trunks****plastered****with****stickers****saying****ITHAKA,****CIRCE'S****ISLE,****and****LAND****OF****THE****AMAZONS.****One****long****table****was****stacked****with****glass****jars****filled****with****pickled**_**things**_—**severed****hairy****claws,****huge****yellow****eyes,****various****other****parts****of****monsters.****A****dusty****mounted****trophy****on****the****wall****looked****like****a****giant****snake's****head,****but****with****horns****and****a****full****set****of****shark's****teeth.****The****plaque****read,****HYDRA****HEAD****#1,****WOODSTOCK,****N.Y.,****1969.**

"That's where you keep your war prizes?" Reyna asked. "We keep them in the trophy room."

**By the window, sitting on a wooden tripod stool, was the most gruesome memento of all: a mummy.**

"Where is that from? I can't think of any myths with a mummy." Leo said.

"Oh that's not a memento." Annabeth said.

**Not the wrapped-in-cloth kind, but a human female body shriveled to a husk. She wore a tie-dyed sundress, lots of beaded necklaces, and a headband over long black hair. The skin of her face was thin and leathery over her skull, and her eyes were glassy white slits, as if the real eyes had been replaced by marbles; she'd been dead a long, long time.**

**Looking at her sent chills up my back. And that was before she sat up on her stool and opened her mouth. A green mist poured from the mummy's mouth, coiling over the floor in thick tendrils, hissing like twenty thousand snakes. I stumbled over myself trying to get to the trap door, but it slammed shut.**

"THAT was your oracle?" Jason asked, shocked.

"I think I'm going to hurl!" Leo exclaimed.

"I don't blame you for trying to leave." Piper said, horror displayed on her face.

**Inside my head, I heard a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling around my brain: _I__am__the__spirit__of__Delphi,__speaker__of__the__prophecies__of__Phoebus__Apollo,__slayer__of__the__mighty__Python.__Approach,__seeker,__and__ask._**

"That is so creepy!" Hazel said, appalled.

**I wanted to say, _No__thanks,__wrong__door,__just__looking__for__the__bath__room._But I forced myself to take a deep breath.**

**The mummy wasn't alive. She was some kind of gruesome receptacle for something else, the power that was now swirling around me in the green mist. But its presence didn't feel evil, like my demonic math teacher Mrs. Dodds or the Minotaur. It felt more like the Three Fates I'd seen knitting the yarn outside the highway fruit stand: ancient, powerful, and definitely _not_human. But not particularly interested in killing me, either.**

**I got up the courage to ask, "What is my destiny?"**

"Getting a little ahead of yourself there, eh Percy?" Grover chuckled.

**The mist swirled more thickly, collecting right in front of me and around the table with the pickled monster-part jars. Suddenly there were four men sitting around the table, playing cards. Their faces became clearer. It was Smelly Gabe and his buddies.**

"Weird." Frank mused.

**My fists clenched, though I knew this poker party couldn't be real. It was an illusion, made out of mist.**

**Gabe turned toward me and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: _You__shall__go__west,__and__face__the__god__who__has__turned._**

**His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: _You__shall__find__what__was__stolen,__and__see__it__safely__returned._**

**The guy on the left threw in two poker chips, then said: _You__shall__he__betrayed__by__one__who__calls__you__a__friend._**

**Finally, Eddie, our building superior, delivered the worst line of all: _And__you__shall__fail__to__save__what__matters__most,__in__the__end._**

"Wait, so the prophecy is:  
>You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.<br>You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.  
>You shall he betrayed by one who calls you a friend.<br>And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end." Reyna said, deep in thought.

"That's ominous." Jason frowned.

**The figures began to dissolve. At first I was too stunned to say anything, but as the mist retreated, coiling into a huge green serpent and slithering back into the mouth of the mummy, I cried, "Wait! What do you mean? What friend? What will I fail to save?"**

**The tail of the mist snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it hadn't been open in a hundred years. The attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing but a room full of mementos.**

**I got the feeling that I could stand here until I had cob webs, too, and I wouldn't learn anything else.**

**My audience with the Oracle was over.**

I stuck my tongue out. "What was that?" Annabeth asked, an amused look on her face.

"Octavian said oracles were stupid." The campers who had had the er pleasure, of meeting Octavian chuckled.

**"Well?" Chiron asked me.**

**I slumped into a chair at the pinochle table. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen."**

**Grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on the remains of a Diet Coke can. "That's great!"**

"The rest kinda sucked." Grover admitted.

**"What did the Oracle say _exactly?"_Chiron pressed. "This is important."**

**My ears were still tingling from the reptilian voice. "She ... she said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."**

**"I knew it," Grover said.**

**Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?"**

**I didn't want to tell him.**

**What friend would betray me? I didn't have that many.**

"That would make trusting anybody very hard." Reyna said.

"Percy is very trusting, even when he knows someone may be a traitor, he does what he must." Annabeth said, causing my cheeks to go light pink. Piper looked away _I__wonder__if__he__trusted__Silena__…_

**And the last line—I would fail to save what mattered most. What kind of Oracle would send me on a quest and tell me, _Oh,__by__the__way,__you'll__fail_**

"Motivating." Piper said dryly.

**How could I confess that?**

**"No," I said. "That's about it."**

**He studied my face. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."**

**I got the feeling he knew I was holding back something bad, and he was trying to make me feel better.**

**"Okay," I said, anxious to change topics. "So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?"**

**"Ah, think, Percy," Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"**

"My dad." Hazel grumbled.

**"Somebody else who wants to take over?" I guessed.**

**"Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."**

"Funny how Hades is the only one who didn't break the oath." Grover said.

**I thought about my dreams, the evil voice that had spoken from under the ground. "Hades."**

**Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."**

"Not really." Annabeth groaned.

**A scrap of aluminum dribbled out of Grover's mouth. "Whoa, wait. Wh-what?"**

**"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him. **

"Ohhh… he said the f word." Leo joked.

**"She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."**

**"Yes, but—but Hades hates _all_heroes," Grover pro tested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon..."**

**"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued.**

**"Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."**

**"Great," I muttered. "That's two major gods who want to kill me."**

"Oh young Percy, there are more than two gods who want to kill you. All but your dad do. Especially Athena." Grover said, shaking his head. I leaned over and smacked him.

**"But a quest to ..." Grover swallowed. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."**

**"Hades****sent****a****minion****to****steal****the****master****bolt,"****Chiron****insisted.****"He****hid****it****in****the****Underworld,****knowing****full****well****that****Zeus****would****blame****Poseidon.** **I****don't****pretend****to****under****stand****the****Lord****of****the****Dead's****motives****perfectly,****or****why****he****chose****this****time****to****start****a****war,****but****one****thing****is****certain.****Percy****must****go****to****the****Underworld,****find****the****master****bolt,****and****reveal****the****truth."**

**A strange fire burned in my stomach. The weirdest thing was: it wasn't fear. It was anticipation. **

"You are so strange." Jason said.

**The desire for revenge. Hades had tried to kill me three times so far, with the Fury, the Minotaur, and the hellhound. It was his fault my mother had disappeared in a flash of light. Now he was trying to frame me and my dad for a theft we hadn't committed.**

**I was ready to take him on.**

"No you aren't. He's a god!" Frank said.

I grinned "It can't be that hard." Annabeth and Grover chuckled, while everyone else looked puzzled.

**Besides, if my mother was in the Underworld …**

**Whoa, boy, said the small part of my brain that was still sane. **

"A very small part that is now non-existent." Annabeth teased.

**You're a kid. Hades is a god.**

"That won't stop me." I snickered.

**Grover****was****trembling.****He'd****started****eating****pinochle****cards****like****potato****chips.** **The****poor****guy****needed****to****complete****a****quest****with****me****so****he****could****get****his****searcher's****license,****whatever****that****was,****but****how****could****I****ask****him****to****do****this****quest,****especially****when****the****Oracle****said****I****was****destined****to****fail?****This****was****suicide.**

**"Look, if we know it's Hades," I told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."**

**"Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron said. "Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades—and I imagine Poseidon does—they couldn't retrieve the bolt them selves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it.**

**No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"**

**"You're saying I'm being used."**

**"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."**

"Great." I said, rolling my eyes.

**My dad needs me.**

**Emotions rolled around inside me like bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. I didn't know whether to feel resentful or grateful or happy or angry. Poseidon had ignored me for twelve years. Now suddenly he needed me.**

**I looked at Chiron. "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"**

**"I had my suspicions. As I said ... I've spoken to the Oracle, too."**

"I can't believe it took me four years to finally hear that stupid prophecy." I grumbled.

"Patience is a virtue." Hazel sang.

"One Percy does not possess." Annabeth teased.

**I got the feeling there was a lot he wasn't telling me about his prophecy, but I decided I couldn't worry about that right now. After all, I was holding back information too.**

**"So let me get this straight," I said. "I'm supposed go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."**

**"Check," Chiron said.**

**"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."**

**"Check."**

**"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."**

**"That's about right."**

"Do not to die. Check." Grover chuckled.

**I looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts.**

**"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" he asked weakly.**

Everybody snickered.

**"You****don't****have****to****go,"****I****told****him.****"I****can't****ask****that****of****you.**"

"Oh Percy. I'll always stick with you. That's what friends are for." Grover said softly.

"Thanks man." I said, smiling at him.

**"Oh ..." He shifted his hooves. "No ... it's just that satyrs and underground places ... well..."**

**He took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt. "You saved my life, Percy. If ... if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."**

**I felt so relieved I wanted to cry,**

"Awww." Hazel cooed, half serious, half teasing.

**though I didn't think that would be very heroic. Grover was the only friend I'd ever had for longer than a few months. I wasn't sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, but I felt better knowing he'd be with me.**

**"All the way, G-man." I turned to Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."**

**"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."**

**"Where?"**

**Chiron looked surprised. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."**

"Naturally." I said, rolling my eyes.

**"Oh," I said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane—"**

**"No!" Grover shrieked. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"**

**I shook my head, feeling embarrassed. My mom had never taken me anywhere by plane. She'd always said we didn't have the money. Besides, her parents had died in a plane crash.**

**"Percy, think," Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."**

"Dun dun duuunnnn." Jason cackled.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yup." He grinned.

**Overhead, lightning crackled. Thunder boomed.**

**"Okay," I said, determined not to look at the storm. "So, I'll travel overland."**

**"That's right," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."**

"Gee. I wonder who that would be." Leo joked, looking pointedly at Annabeth.

**"Gee," I said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"**

"Hehe" Leo snickered.

**The air shimmered behind Chiron.**

**Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket.**

"That is still super cool." Frank said, impressed.

**"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," she said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."**

"If I didn't have you… well it wouldn't be pretty." I said.

**"If you do say so yourself," I said. "I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?"**

**Her cheeks colored. "Do you want my help or not?"**

**The truth was, I did. I needed all the help I could get.**

**"A trio," I said. "That'll work."**

"And it will work again, and again, and again." Grover said.

**"Excellent," Chiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."**

**Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather.**

"Whoa. I can't imagine that happening." Leo said, awestruck.

**"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."**

"And we are all going to bed. We'll start again tomorrow after breakfast." Reyna said. We all said our good night's and walked to our rooms.

**A/N FINALLY! Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)**


	11. Time For Bed

**A/N Sorry but school got crazy insane. YES I am still continuing this story and should be updating somewhat regularly. Fair warning, the last week of January; don't expect anything because of exams.**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

**Percy POV**

We all trooped out of the Senate house and away from New Rome, towards the barracks.

"All of you can stay at camp Headquarters." Reyna said, looking us all over. "And if you do see someone, do not tell them about what we have learned."

When we reached the building, I took the couch in the boy praetor's room, giving Jason the bed, it was his after all. Reyna retired to her room next door. The girls were given bed rolls and got comfy across the hall in the small library/study. The boys were given the same, but placed down the hall in Jason's office, since it had been cleared into storage many months ago.

I settled into the couch and got comfy. Across the small room, I could hear Jason's steady breathing. How in Tartarus was he already asleep? I had been looking forward to discussing his time at Camp Half-blood. Ah well there was always tomorrow. And with that thought, I drifted in to a dreamless (for once) sleep.

Only to be awoken at about midnight. I reached under my pillow for riptide as I felt someone breathing heavily over me. I opened my eyes quickly, causing said person to yelp.

"Percy. You scared me." Annabeth said. Yes, of course I scared you; I thought.

"Annabeth. It's probably past midnight, what are you..." That's when I saw her face. Her eyes were shining in the moonlight and her cheeks were damp. "Annabeth, what's wrong?"

"I dreamt that I woke up and you were gone, just like before." She whispered, her sadness almost making me cry.

"Come here wise girl." I said, patting the couch. She squished in next to me and I held her in my arms.

"I'm never going to leave you again. And if Hera ever even thinks of separating us, well she'll have to deal with a very pissed off Percy Jackson." I said, and kissed her softly.

"Oh Percy." Annabeth whispered. Then she giggled. "A very pissed off Percy? That's definitely a force to be reckoned with."

"You know it." I chuckled, and then we settled back into a peaceful sleep.

XXX

"Wakey wakey." A voice shouted. Startled, I nearly jumped out of bed.

"About time seaweed brain." Annabeth chuckled. She was standing in a purple Camp Jupiter tee shirt and shorts.

"Wahh," was all I seemed to be capable of saying.

"Get ready for breakfast, we read right after" she said, leaving the room.

I eventually got ready and headed over to the mess hall.

After breakfast, I raced to the Senate house, didn't bother arguing with Terminus, Riptide would turn up in my pocket anyway.

"Sorry I'm late" I blurted as I sunk into my seat next to Annabeth, who shot me a secret smile.

"Well, you're just in time." Reyna said, "I was just about to read." She cleared her throat and read out "**Chapter ten, I ruin a perfectly good bus**."

A/N I hope you don't mind that this short little chapter is what you get after what, a month? I just wanted to go a little bit more with Percy and Annabeth outside of the readings. Anyways, I"ll update soon since I have two weeks off. In fact as you were reading this, I am starting the next chapter. I don't think I'll update tomorrow though because it's Christmas day.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas :)


	12. I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus

**A/N WOW I cannot even begin to say how sorry I am that this has taken so long. **

**Disclaimer- I own nothing, Rick Riordan is the one with the talent**

**Chapter Ten- I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus**

_"Well, you're just in time." Reyna said, "I was just about to read." She cleared her throat and read out "__**Chapter ten, I ruin a perfectly good bus**__."_

"Percy! Why would you do that?" Frank asked dramatically.

"Really Frank? Already?" Reyna asked. Frank flushed and we all shared a chuckle.

"**It didn't take me long to pack. I decided to leave the Minotaur horn in my cabin, which left me**

**only an extra change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Grover had found for me.  
><strong>"Ah that was nice of you Grover." Hazel said, smiling at the sleepy Satyr.

**The camp store loaned me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas.**

**These coins were as big as Girl Scout cookies and had images of various Greek gods stamped on**

**one side and the Empire State Building on the other. **

"How in the heck did you manage to keep a hold of them?" Reyna asked incredulously.

**The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron told us, but Olympians never used less than pure gold. Chiron said the coins might come in handy for non-mortal transactions—whatever that meant. **

"I know what that means now." I said as Annabeth and Reyna stared at me like I was an idiot.

**He gave Annabeth and me each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. It was god food, Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally.**

"And that would suck a lot." Piper pointed out.

"Uh duh." Frank said jokingly, causing Piper to lean over and smack his arm.

**Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she told me had been a twelfth birthday present from her mom. She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in**

**Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, **

"Did you really think you would be bored?" I asked.

"I don't know! I had like never left camp." Annabeth said blushing as everyone stared at her.

**and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. I was sure the knife would get us busted the first time we went through a metal detector.**

"Oh have some faith in me." Annabeth said winking.

**Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. **

"Sure, wear the hat to cover your horns, but it won't look suspicious _at all_ if someone looks over and you're chewing a pop can." Leo joked.

**In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday," both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.**

"Hey!" Grover cried indignantly, turning to glare at me.

"Well it's true. And you can do better now." I said uncomfortably.

**We waved good-bye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus.**

"That is still kinda disturbing to hear." Jason said. "She should be so much older than me, but she's not."

"True, but I'm just glad my oldest friend is back." Annabeth said softly. I didn't fail to notice that Annabeth left out Luke.

**Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood the surfer dude I'd seen when I was recovering in the sick room. According to Grover, the guy was the camp's head of security. He supposedly had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Today, though, he was**

**wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so I could only see extra peepers on his hands,**

"He should be wearing gloves." Reyna said disapprovingly.

**face and neck.**

**"This is Argus," Chiron told me. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."**

"Well, maybe more than an eye…" Grover chuckled.

**I heard footsteps behind us. Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes.**

**"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."**

**Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around.**

"I did not." Annabeth protested.

**"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told me. "And I thought ... um, maybe you could use**

**these."**

Grover shivered, Annabeth growled low in her throat and I glared at the book.

"What's with you three?" Jason asked suspiciously.

"Nothing." I said quickly.

**He handed me the sneakers, which looked pretty normal. They even smelled kind of normal.**

**Luke said, **_**"Maia!"**_

Grover paled.

"Wait a second…" Jason said. He didn't continue his sentence as Annabeth sent him her death glare. As brave as Jason was, he cowered under her glare and said no more.

**White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling me so much, I dropped them. The shoes**

**flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.**

**"Awesome!" Grover said.**

"Not." He muttered quietly.

**Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." His expression turned sad.**

"If only the gods spent some time with their children." I muttered.

**I didn't know what to say. It was cool enough that Luke had come to say good-bye. I'd been afraid he might resent me for getting so much attention the last few days. But here he was giving**

**me a magic gift... It made me blush almost as much as Annabeth.**

Annabeth and I blushed as everyone laughed.

"I did not blush around him." She protested, only to be ignored.

**"Hey, man," I said. "Thanks."**

**"Listen, Percy ..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just ...kill some monsters for me, okay?"**

"Well, I definitely did that." I smirked.

"With of course the help of me and Grover." Annabeth pointed out.

"Of course dear." I said, and then winced as she smacked the back of my head.

**We shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a good-bye hug to**

**Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out.**

"Okay no more laughing at Annabeth when she reacts around Luke." I said, seeing Annabeth blush and look uncomfortable. Everyone agreed, and Annabeth shot me a grateful look.

**After Luke was gone, I told her, "You're hyperventilating."**

**"Am not."**

Thankfully, nobody made a comment. I noticed Frank had a grin on his face that he was failing to supress.

**"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"**

**"Oh ... why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?"**

"Oh I have no idea." She said smiling at me.

"You know you'd go anywhere with me." I said somewhat smugly, causing everyone to chuckle. She cuddled into my side and whispered, "I know."

**She stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the**

**road. Argus followed, jingling his car keys. I picked up the flying shoes and had a sudden bad feeling. I looked at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?"**

"Why- Oh right. My dad." Jason said.

**He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air ... that would not be wise for you."**

"Definitely, I'd be zapped like that." I said, snapping my fingers.

**I nodded, disappointed, but then I got an idea. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"**

**His eyes lit up. "Me?"**

**Pretty soon we'd laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy was ready for launch.**

"That was rather fun." He said brightly, adding quietly "Until they tried to drag me to the depths of Tartarus."

_**"Maia!" **_**he shouted.**

**He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos.**

The room shook with our laughter as Grover turned beet red.

**"Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"**

**"Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawn mower, heading**

**toward the van.**

"Oh dear lord Zeus." Hazel said, gasping for air as she tried to stop giggling.

**Before I could follow, Chiron caught my arm. "I should have trained you better, Percy," he said. "If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason—they all got more training."**

"That's not what you want to hear just before your first quest." I pointed out. "I was a little worried."

"At least you weren't expected to fail by the whole camp." Hazel pointed out. I frowned.

"Yeah our quest didn't fall into my top 5 quests." I joked.

**"That's okay. I just wish—"**

**I stopped myself because I was about to sound like a brat. I was wishing my dad had given**

**me a cool magic item to help on the quest, something as good as Luke's flying shoes, or**

**Annabeth's invisible cap.**

"Oh mine is so much better." I said.

"I don't think so." Annabeth argued.

"Oh come on, who wants to worry about losing a cap or forgetting their sword when it could always be in their pocket." I said.

"Turning invisible during a battle is excessively strategic. Besides, unlike you, I'm always prepared when I go into battle. I forget nothing." She said smugly.

"So? I don't need months of planning. My plans work out." She raised an eyebrow. "Alright they usually work out." Her other eyebrow joined the first. "All right, so my plans aren't the best." She burst out laughing.

"Your ideas are awful." She said.

"My gift is better than the both of yours." Frank piped up. "I can change into anything."

"Yes but it burns your life away." Hazel pointed out. Frank made a face at her.

"Mine was the best. It was like your pen Percy, but a coin and if you flipped it the other way, it was a shaft of lightning. I win." Jason said.

Reyna cleared her throat as I opened my mouth to retort that not all of us would like to try to get a sword and be fried instead. "As lovely as this debate is can I continue reading? Good."

**"What am I thinking?" Chiron cried. "I can't let you get away without this." He pulled a pen from his coat pocket and handed it to me. It was an ordinary disposable ballpoint, black ink, removable cap. Probably cost thirty cents.**

"Yeah, definitely not 30 cents." I said, thinking of what Zoe had given up.

**"Gee," I said. "Thanks."**

**"Percy, that's a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."**

**I remembered the field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, when I'd vaporized Mrs. Dodds. Chiron had thrown me a pen that turned into a sword. Could this be ... ?**

"Oh yes it is." I said, leaning forward on my seat in anticipation.

**I took off the cap, and the pen grew longer and heavier in my hand. In half a second, I held a**

**shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a leather-wrapped grip, and a flat hilt**

**riveted with gold studs. It was the first weapon that actually felt balanced in my hand.**

**"The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," **

"Do we get to know the long tragic history?" Piper asked.

"Yeah." I said. Piper looked at me expectantly. "In the third book." I smirked. She stuck her tongue out at me.

"No fair." She said.

**Chiron told me. "Its name is Anaklusmos."**

**"'Riptide,'" I translated, surprised the Ancient Greek came so easily.**

"I guess your brain isn't completely full of kelp." Annabeth grinned.

**"Use it only for emergencies," Chiron said, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm**

**mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword wouldn't harm them in any case."**

"Yeah. I learned that the easy way." I said rolling my eyes.

"Rachel?" Annabeth asked and I nodded.

**I looked at the wickedly sharp blade. "What do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals? How**

**could it not?"**

**"The sword is celestial bronze. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna,**

**cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided**

**they don't kill you first. But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion. They simply are**

**not important enough for the blade to kill. And I should warn you: as a demigod, you can be**

**killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are **_**twice **_**as vulnerable."**

"Lovely." I said dryly, causing even Reyna to give a snort of laughter.

**"Good to know."**

**"Now recap the pen."**

**I touched the pen cap to the sword tip and instantly Riptide shrank to a ballpoint pen again. I**

**tucked it in my pocket, a little nervous, because I was famous for losing pens at school.**

"I love my pen. Have I mentioned that?" I said.

"Only a million times." Grover said rolling his eyes.

**"You can't," Chiron said.**

**"Can't what?"**

**"Lose the pen," he said. "It is enchanted. It will always reappear in your pocket. Try it."**

**I was wary, but I threw the pen as far as I could down the hill and watched it disappear in the**

**grass.**

**"It may take a few moments," Chiron told me. "Now check your pocket."**

**Sure enough, the pen was there.**

"Okay, that is extremely handy." Annabeth admitted. "But my hat is still better."

Jason opened his mouth to continue our argument, but Reyna cut him off.

**"Okay, that's **_**extremely **_**cool," I admitted. "But what if a mortal sees me pulling out a sword?"**

**Chiron smiled. "Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."**

**"Mist?"**

"I'd like to learn to manipulate it." I mused.

"You can't." Jason said.

"Your sister can." Annabeth said.

**"Yes. Read **_**The Iliad. **_**It's full of references to the stuff. Whenever divine or monstrous**

**elements mix with the mortal world, they generate Mist, which obscures the vision of humans.**

**You will see things just as they are, being a half-blood, but humans will interpret things quite**

**differently. Remarkable, really, the lengths to which humans will go to fit things into their version**

**of reality."**

**I put Riptide back in my pocket.**

**For the first time, the quest felt real. I was actually leaving Half-Blood Hill. I was heading**

**west with no adult supervision, no backup plan, not even a cell phone. (Chiron said cell phones**

**were traceable by monsters; if we used one, it would be worse than sending up a flare.) **

"Not to mention hardly any training." Hazel pointed out.

**I had no weapon stronger than a sword to fight off monsters and reach the Land of the Dead.**

**"Chiron ..." I said. "When you say the gods are immortal... I mean, there was a time **_**before**_

**them, right?"**

**"Four ages before them, actually. The Time of the Titans was the Fourth Age, sometimes**

**called the Golden Age, which is definitely a misnomer. **

"Definitely a misnomer." Jason said.

"Why is it called the Golden Age anyway?" Leo asked.

"Because man was innocent of all knowledge and-"

"Annabeth, I ask Chiron." I said, cutting her off.

**This, the time of Western civilization and**

**the rule of Zeus, is the Fifth Age."**

**"So what was it like ... before the gods?"**

**Chiron pursed his lips. "Even I am not old enough to remember that, child, but I know it was**

**a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the**

**Golden Age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge. But that was mere**

**propaganda. The Titan king cared nothing for your kind except as appetizers or a source of cheap**

**entertainment. **

"That's awful!" Leo said, looking sick.

"You have no idea." I said grimly.

**It was only in the early reign of Lord Zeus, when Prometheus the good Titan **

"He's not that good." I muttered, causing Annabeth to look at me quizzically.

**brought fire to mankind, that your species began to progress, and even then Prometheus was**

**branded a radical thinker. Zeus punished him severely, as you may recall. **

"Well that wasn't exactly fair." Annabeth said.

**Of course, eventually the gods warmed to humans, and Western civilization was born."**

**"But the gods can't die now, right? I mean, as long as Western civilization is alive, they're**

**alive. So ... even if I failed, nothing could happen so bad it would mess up **_**everything, **_**right?"**

"I hope Chiron was reassuring." Frank said.

"Not in the slightest." I said.

**Chiron gave me a melancholy smile. "No one knows how long the Age of the West will last,**

**Percy. The gods are immortal, yes. But then, so were the Titans. **_**They **_**still exist, locked away in**

**their various prisons, forced to endure endless pain and punishment, reduced in power, but still**

**very much alive. May the Fates forbid that the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we**

**should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. All we can do, child, is follow our**

**destiny."**

**"Our destiny ... assuming we know what that is."**

"Well, the gods know your destiny, Chiron knows your destiny, I know your destiny, and now finally, you do too." Annabeth smirked.

I playfully smacked her over the head.

**"Relax," Chiron told me. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent**

**the biggest war in human history."**

"I see what you mean." Frank said.

**"Relax," I said. "I'm very relaxed."**

Everybody broke out into laughter, finally calming down enough to carry on with the book.

**When I got to the bottom of the hill, I looked back. Under the pine tree that used to be Thalia,**

**daughter of Zeus, Chiron was now standing in full horse-man form, holding his bow high in**

**salute. Just your typical summer-camp send-off by your typical centaur.**

The laughter that everyone managed to contain just moments before exploded into the room once more, echoing off the walls.

"Just another ordinary day at an ordinary summer-camp." Leo snorted.

**Argus drove us out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird to be on a**

**highway again, Annabeth and Grover sitting next to me as if we were normal carpoolers. After**

**two weeks at Half-Blood Hill, the real world seemed like a fantasy. I found myself staring at**

**every McDonald's, every kid in the back of his parents' car, every billboard and shopping mall.**

"Creeper." Piper joked.

I did the mature thing and stuck out my tongue. It was payback.

**"So far so good," I told Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."**

"And you jinxed it." Reyna groaned.

**She gave me an irritated look. "It's bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain."**

**"Remind me again—why do you hate me so much?"**

"She doesn't hate you. No no no, she doesn't hate you at all." Frank said.

"She looooves you." Leo added. The two of them cackled while the rest of us stared at them.

"Are you done?" Reyna asked.

**"I don't hate you."**

**"Could've fooled me."**

**She folded her cap of invisibility. "Look ... we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our**

**parents are rivals."**

"So?" Piper asked.

**"Why?"**

**She sighed. "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his**

**girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is **_**hugely **_**disrespectful. **

"And then turned her into a murderous snake with a grudge. Remind me to thank your mom." I said quietly, earning a not to friendly punch in the arm.

"Ow." I mumbled.

"Like that hurt, you're indestructible." She hissed.

"Not anymore." I whispered. Annabeth looked surprised then worried. I mouthed 'later' at her.

**Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."**

**"They must really like olives."**

**"Oh, forget it."**

**"Now, if she'd invented pizza—**_**that **_**I could understand."**

**"I said, forget it!"**

"You are so annoying sometimes seaweed brain." Annabeth said rolling her eyes.

**In the front seat, Argus smiled. He didn't say anything, but one blue eye on the back of his**

**neck winked at me. Traffic slowed us down in Queens. By the time we got into Manhattan it was sunset and starting to rain. Argus dropped us at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, not far from my mom and Gabe's apartment. Taped to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with my picture on it: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?**

**I ripped it down before Annabeth and Grover could notice.**

"We noticed." Grover said. "But decided not to mention it."

**Argus unloaded our bags, made sure we got our bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the**

**back of his hand opening to watch us as he pulled out of the parking lot. I thought about how close I was to my old apartment. On a normal day, my mom would be home from the candy store by now. **

Piper sighed, not knowing if your parent was still alive, well that wasn't exactly a walk in the park.

**Smelly Gabe was probably up there right now, playing poker, not even missing her.**

**Grover shouldered his backpack. He gazed down the street in the direction I was looking.**

**"You want to know why she married him, Percy?"**

**I stared at him. "Were you reading my mind or something?"**

**"Just your emotions." He shrugged. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. **

"Convenient." I said, giving Grover a look.

**You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"**

**I nodded, wondering what else Grover might've forgotten to tell me.**

**"Your mom married Gabe for **_**you," **_**Grover told me. **

"That actually made me feel worse about the situation." I said.

"Sorry." Grover apologized.

**"You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura…. Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."**

**"Thanks," I said. "Where's the nearest shower?"**

**"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask**

**the presence of any demigod. **

"That's actually pretty gross." Hazel said wrinkling her nose.

**As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. **

"The only thing he was good for." I said darkly.

Annabeth noticed and held my hand.

**Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better."**

**It didn't, but I forced myself not to show it. **

"Sorry." Grover said again.

**I'll see her again, I thought. She isn't gone.**

"Denial is a beautiful thing." Reyna said softly, glancing at Jason. Jason didn't notice though, so Reyna quickly continued reading.

**I wondered if Grover could still read my emotions, mixed up as they were. I was glad he and**

**Annabeth were with me, but I felt guilty that I hadn't been straight with them. I hadn't told them**

**the real reason I'd said yes to this crazy quest.**

"Why does it not surprise me that you're not jumping to go help the gods?" Frank said, thinking about all the crap they'd put him through.

**The truth was, I didn't care about retrieving Zeus's lightning bolt, or saving the world, or even**

**helping my father out of trouble. The more I thought about it, I resented Poseidon for never**

**visiting me, never helping my mom, never even sending a lousy child-support check. He'd only**

**claimed me because he needed a job done. All I cared about was my mom. Hades had taken her unfairly, and Hades was going to give her back.**

"I don't think that will work." Hazel said. I flashed her a grin.

"You'll see." I mouthed. She looked at me confusedly.

_**You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, **_**the Oracle whispered in my mind. **_**You**_

_**will fail to save what matters most in the end.**_

_**Shut up, **_**I told it.**

"Mature." Annabeth giggled.

"What, I was eleven." I protested.

"Are you saying you would have thought differently now?" She challenged.

"No." I said sheepishly.

**The rain kept coming down. We got restless waiting for the bus and decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable. **

"We know you think she's unbelievable." Grover said.

"Not what I meant." Annabeth shot me an incredulous look. "At the time." I amended.

**She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. I wasn't too bad myself. ****The ****game ended when I tossed the apple toward Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In**

**one mega goat bite, our Hacky Sack disappeared—core, stem, and all.**

Grover blushed, but everyone was too busy cracking up.

**Grover blushed. He tried to apologize, but Annabeth and I were too busy cracking up.**

This line caused us all to start laughing once more.

**Finally the bus came. As we stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing**

**the air like he smelled his favorite school cafeteria delicacy—enchiladas.**

**"What is it?" I asked.**

**"I don't know," he said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."**

"It wasn't nothing." The three of us said together.

**But I could tell it wasn't nothing. I started looking over my shoulder, too. I was relieved when we finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. We stowed our backpacks. Annabeth kept slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh. As the last passengers got on, Annabeth clamped her hand onto my knee. "Percy."**

"I knew it was Annabeth who made the first move." Leo chuckled. He clued into mine and Annabeth's blushes. "Oh ho! So it was Annabeth." He said, laughing harder.

**An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a**

**shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse. When she**

**tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered, and my heart skipped a beat.**

**It was Mrs. Dodds. Older, more withered, but definitely the same evil face.**

"They always have that same evil face." Hazel shuddered.

**I scrunched down in my seat.**

**Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise they**

**looked exactly like Mrs. Dodds—same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses.**

**Triplet demon grandmothers.**

"Triplet demon grandmothers? That's how you describe them? Really?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

**They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over**

**the walkway, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves.**

"Duh duh duhhhh." Leo said.

**The bus pulled out of the station, and we headed through the slick streets of Manhattan. "She**

**didn't stay dead long," I said, trying to keep my voice from quivering. "I thought you said they**

**could be dispelled for a lifetime."**

**"I said if you're **_**lucky**_**," Annabeth said. "You're obviously not."**

"Me lucky? Ha that would be too good. I'd take just regular old not unlucky at this point." I said.

**"All three of them," Grover whimpered. **_**"Di immortales!"**_

**"It's okay," Annabeth said, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters**

**from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."**

"Good plan." Reyna approved.

**"They don't open," Grover moaned.**

"Bad luck." Piper said dismally.

**"A back exit?" she suggested.**

**There wasn't one. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped. By that time, we were on**

**Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.**

"You have got to get out of there." Hazel said wringing her hands.

**"They won't attack us with witnesses around," I said. "Will they?"**

**"Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth reminded me. "Their brains can only process what**

**they see through the Mist."**

**"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"**

Everybody burst into laughter.

"Well, that would raise some suspicion wouldn't it?" I asked sullenly. Annabeth kissed my cheek.

"Oh seaweed brain." She said happily.

**She thought about it. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an**

**emergency exit in the roof ... ?"**

**We hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the**

**aisle. It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain.**

Hazel shivered, but smiled when Frank held her hand.

'That does sound spooky." Leo agreed, serious… for once.

**Mrs. Dodds got up. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I**

**need to use the rest-room."**

"Thanks for the announcement granny dearest." Leo said, back to his joking self.

**"So do I," said the second sister.**

**"So do I," said the third sister.**

"Because that's not suspicious

**They all started coming down the aisle.**

**"I've got it," Annabeth said. "Percy, take my hat."**

**"What?"**

**"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you**

**can get to the front and get away."**

"You have no idea how that made me feel." I said frowning at Annabeth.

"I know now. You and your heroics." She said. "I know now that you will never leave anybody behind."

**"But you guys—"**

**"There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth said. "You're a son of one of**

**the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."**

**"I can't just leave you."**

**"Don't worry about us," Grover said. "Go!"**

**My hands trembled. I felt like a coward, but I took the Yankees cap and put it on.**

Jason opened his mouth to comment, but Annabeth sent him her worst glare aand he quickly shut it and sank far into his seat.

**When I looked down, my body wasn't there anymore.**

"That is not something I could ever get used to." I said.

"It was weird at first." Annabeth admitted.

"I want to try!" Leo cried.

"Over my dead body. Nobody touches my hat." Annabeth said.

"Nobody eh?" I said, winking at her. She caught on and started laughing.

**I started creeping up the aisle. I managed to get up ten rows, then duck into an empty seat just**

**as the Furies walked past.**

**Mrs. Dodds stopped, sniffing, and looked straight at me. My heart was pounding.**

"I actually thought it was going to stop." I admitted.

**Apparently she didn't see anything. She and her sisters kept going.**

**I was free. I made it to the front of the bus. We were almost through the Lincoln Tunnel now.**

**I was about to press the emergency stop button when I heard hideous wailing from the back row.**

**The old ladies were not old ladies anymore. Their faces were still the same—I guess those**

**couldn't get any uglier— but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's**

**wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws. **

"Well aren't they a lovely bunch." Reyna said dryly.

**Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.**

**The Furies surrounded Grover and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing: "Where is it?**

"Wait, did they say it?" Jason asked, sitting up straight. Reyna re-read the last line.

"Yeah, what could they mean?" She asked. Annabeth, Grover and I all looked in different directions and pretended to whistle. Reyna narrowed her eyes.

"Spill. What do you three know?" She asked.

"You'll see." Grover

**Where?"**

**The other people on the bus were screaming, cowering in their seats. They saw **_**something, **_**all**

**right.**

**"He's not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He's gone!"**

**The Furies raised their whips.**

**Annabeth drew her bronze knife. Grover grabbed a tin can from his snack bag and prepared**

**to throw it.**

"Now that is the best weapon ever." Leo said, as Grover blushed and everyone else laughed.

**What I did next was so impulsive and dangerous I should've been named ADHD poster child**

**of the year.**

"Oh dear." Hazel sighed.

**The bus driver was distracted, trying to see what was going on in his rearview mirror.**

**Still invisible, I grabbed the wheel from him and jerked it to the left. Everybody howled as**

**they were thrown to the right, and I heard what I hoped was the sound of three Furies smashing**

**against the windows.**

"You didn't." Piper said, covering her eyes. "This is so not going to end well."

**"Hey!" the driver yelled. "Hey—whoa!"**

**We wrestled for the wheel. The bus slammed against the side of the tunnel, grinding metal,**

**throwing sparks a mile behind us.**

**We careened out of the Lincoln Tunnel and back into the rainstorm, people and monsters**

**tossed around the bus, cars plowed aside like bowling pins.**

**Somehow the driver found an exit. We shot off the highway, through half a dozen traffic**

**lights, and ended up barreling down one of those New Jersey rural roads where you can't believe**

**there's so much nothing right across the river from New York. There were woods to our left, the**

**Hudson River to our right, and the driver seemed to be veering toward the river.**

**Another great idea: I hit the emergency brake.**

**The bus wailed, spun a full circle on the wet asphalt, and crashed into the trees. The**

**emergency lights came on. The door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out, the**

**passengers yelling as they stampeded after him. I stepped into the driver's seat and let them pass.**

**The Furies regained their balance. They lashed their whips at Annabeth while she waved her**

**knife and yelled in Ancient Greek, telling them to back off. Grover threw tin cans.**

**I looked at the open doorway. I was free to go, but I couldn't leave my friends. I took off the**

**invisible cap. "Hey!"**

**The Furies turned, baring their yellow fangs at me, and the exit suddenly seemed like an**

**excellent idea. Mrs. Dodds stalked up the aisle, just as she used to do in class, about to deliver my**

**F- math test. Every time she flicked her whip, red flames danced along the barbed leather.**

**Her two ugly sisters hopped on top of the seats on either side of her and crawled toward me**

**like huge nasty lizards.**

**"Perseus Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said, in an accent that was definitely from somewhere farther**

**south than Georgia. "You have offended the gods. You shall die."**

**"I liked you better as a math teacher," I told her.**

**She growled.**

**Annabeth and Grover moved up behind the Furies cautiously, looking for an opening.**

**I took the ballpoint pen out of my pocket and uncapped it. Riptide elongated into a**

**shimmering double-edged sword.**

**The Furies hesitated.**

**Mrs. Dodds had felt Riptide's blade before. She obviously didn't like seeing it again.**

**"Submit now," she hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."**

**"Nice try," I told her.**

**"Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried.**

**Mrs. Dodds lashed her whip around my sword hand while the Furies on the either side lunged**

**at me.**

**My hand felt like it was wrapped in molten lead, but I managed not to drop Riptide. I stuck**

**the Fury on the left with its hilt, sending her toppling backward into a seat. I turned and sliced the**

**Fury on the right. As soon as the blade connected with her neck, she screamed and exploded into**

**dust. Annabeth got Mrs. Dodds in a wrestler's hold and yanked her backward while Grover ripped**

**the whip out of her hands.**

**"Ow!" he yelled. "Ow! Hot! Hot!"**

**The Fury I'd hilt-slammed came at me again, talons ready, but I swung Riptide and she broke**

**open like a piñata.**

**Mrs. Dodds was trying to get Annabeth off her back. She kicked, clawed, hissed and bit, but**

**Annabeth held on while Grover got Mrs. Dodds's legs tied up in her own whip. Finally they both**

**shoved her backward into the aisle. Mrs. Dodds tried to get up, but she didn't have room to flap**

**her bat wings, so she kept falling down.**

**"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!"**

_**"Braccas meas vescimini!" **_**I yelled.**

The campers from camp Jupiter erupted into laughter.

"Did you seriously just say 'Eat my Pants'?" Frank said in between gasps of laughter.

"Great comeback Percy." Hazel said, giving me a high-five.

**I wasn't sure where the Latin came from. I think it meant "Eat my pants!"**

"It did." Reyna said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

**Thunder shook the bus. The hair rose on the back of my neck.**

**"Get out!" Annabeth yelled at me. "Now!" I didn't need any encouragement.**

"I never do when it comes to Zeus." I grumbled.

**We rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with**

**the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We're going to die!" A Hawaiian-shirted tourist**

**with a camera snapped my photograph before I could recap my sword.**

"Oh my Jupiter. That's going to come back to bite you in the-"

"That is enough Jason." Reyna said, sending him a warning glare.

**"Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our—"**

_**BOOOOOM!**_

"Well that's unfortunate." Piper said.

**The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a huge**

**crater in the roof, but an angry wail from inside told me Mrs. Dodds was not yet dead.**

"I don't think they can die." Hazel said.

**"Run!" Annabeth said. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"**

**We plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind us, and nothing**

**but darkness ahead.**

"And that's the chapter." Reyna said, passing the book to Jason.

"Kind of an ominous ending." Piper mused.


	13. We Visit The Garden Gnome Emporium

**A/N Sorry I've been busy with school and that took priority. Jeez I'm awful aren't I? On the plus side, I'm now finished gr 11! One more year! Plus I started reading A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin. I strongly recommend the first book (Game of Thrones)**

**P.S. Check out the poll on my profile! Do you want Jason/Reyna or Jason/Piper?**

**Disclaimer- I don't own anything. Everything in bold comes directly from Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.**

**11 We Visit the Gnome Emporium**

"_And that's the chapter." Reyna said, passing the book to Jason._

"_Kind of an ominous ending." Piper mused._

**In a way, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong. **

Everybody in the room burst into laughter.

"Oh that's so true!" Piper said hysterically.

**For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck; **

"No, I'm pretty sure normal people would think that some psycho is trying to kill them." Leo said pleasantly.

**when you're a half-blood, you understand that some divine force really is trying to mess up your day.**

"Or that." Leo said.

**So there we were, Annabeth and Grover and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses.**

Piper wrinkled her nose. "Delightful."

**Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."**

"It was scary." Grover defended himself.

"Nobody argues with you, I'd have had a panic attack myself." Jason admitted. Leo gaped at him, Jason, his friend who had jumped off a cliff to save someone he didn't know?

**I was pretty much in shock myself. The explosion of bus windows still rang in my ears. But Annabeth kept pulling us along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."**

"I'm glad I can keep a clear head in a crisis." Annabeth said sarcastically.

"Love you wise girl." I said cheekily, kissing the top of her head.

**"All our money was back there," I reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything." "Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight—" "What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?" "You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."**

"Sometimes you have to let me help you." I whispered.

"Are you sure it's not the other way around?" She whispered back.

**"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine." "Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth. **

"Sorry Grover." Annabeth apologized, that had come out a little harsh, he was after all traumatized.

**Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans ... a perfectly good bag of tin cans." We sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry.**

"Eww." Several people said, wrinkling their nose.

**After a few minutes, Annabeth fell into line next to me. "Look, I..." Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."**

"Annabeth apologizing and complimenting Percy? What has the world come to?" Frank cried dramatically.

**"We're a team, right?"**

**She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died ... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world."**

"And I'd miss you, and be heartbroken and-"

I cut Annabeth off with a kiss.

**The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind us, leaving us in almost total darkness. **

"Spooky." Reyna said.

**I couldn't see anything of Annabeth except a glint of her blond hair.**

**"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" I asked her. "No ... only short field trips. My dad—" **

**"The history professor."**

**"Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood **_**is **_**my home." She was rushing her words out now, as if she were afraid somebody might try to stop her. **

"I was. If I didn't get it out fast, I would never admit this." She said.

**"At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not."**

"Trust me, you're good." I chuckled.

**If I didn't know better, I could've sworn I heard doubt in her voice. "You're pretty good with that knife," I said. "You think so?" "Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me."**

"That was just about the coolest thing I've ever heard of." Piper said, eyeing Annabeth.

"You got that right!" Leo said.

**I couldn't really see, but I thought she might've smiled.**

"I'm sure I did." Annabeth admitted.

**"You know," she said, "maybe I should tell you ... Something funny back on the bus ..."**

**Whatever she wanted to say was interrupted by a shrill **_**toot-toot-toot, **_**like the sound of an owl being tortured.**

"There better not have been." Annabeth exclaimed.

**"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried. **

Everyone immediately burst into laughter.

"Hey!" Grover cried.

"Sorry." I said, trying to stop laughing.

**"If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!"**

**He puffed out a few notes, but the tune still sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff.**

**Instead of finding a path, I immediately slammed into a tree and got a nice-size knot on my head.**

"Thanks Grover." I said, while some of the others snickered.

**Add to the list of superpowers I did **_**not **_**have: infrared vision.**

"Why did you think you'd have superpowers?" Reyna asked.

"Oh I don't know." I said, trying to hide a smile. She eyed me suspiciously.

**After tripping and cursing and generally feeling miserable for another mile or so, **

"Not that you're complaining or anything." Hazel teased.

**I started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. I could smell food. Fried, greasy, excellent food. I realized I hadn't eaten anything unhealthy since I'd arrived at Half-Blood Hill, where we lived on grapes, bread, cheese, and extra-lean-cut nymph-prepared barbecue. **

"We're not even that healthy!" Reyna exclaimed.

"Yeah, and let's not change." Jason said.

**This boy needed a double cheeseburger.**

**We kept walking until I saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed-down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the good smell.**

"That sounds a little suspicious." Frank pointed out.

I mumbled "You don't even know," under my breath, causing Annabeth to snicker.

**It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I'd hoped. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and stuff like that. **

"That right there is your first clue. Talk about creepy." Frank said.

**The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was impossible for me to read, because if there's anything worse for my dyslexia than regular English, it's red cursive neon English.**

The other half-bloods from Camp Half-Blood winced in sympathy. Those from Camp Jupiter who were dyslexic as well winced too.

**To me, it looked like: **_**ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM.**_

**"What the heck does that say?" I asked.**

**"I don't know," Annabeth said.**

Several people chuckled at Annabeth's answer.

**She loved reading so much, I'd forgotten she was dyslexic, too.**

"Because I read in ancient greek." Annabeth said fondly, messing my hair.

"Ack!" I cried, trying to fix it, much to the amusement of the others.

**Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium."**

"Good thing Grover was there or you'd have been screwed." Piper said.

**Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly bearded little runts, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken.**

Grover, Annabeth and I shuddered.

**I crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers. "Hey..." Grover warned. "The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open." "Snack bar," I said wistfully.**

**"Snack bar," she agreed.**

**"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."**

"Let me guess, something goes horribly wrong?" Reyna asked.

**We ignored him.**

"Of course you did." Grover muttered. "No one ever listens to me."

**The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps.**

_**"Bla-ha-ha!" **_**he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"**

Grover whimpered slightly. His poor uncle didn't even get to be reincarnated as a plant.

**We stopped at the warehouse door.**

**"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."**

**"Your nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"**

"Annabeth?" Several people asked.

"Shut up." She murmured, going a bit red.

**"Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian." **

**"You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," I reminded him.**

**"Those are vegetables. **

"Not really. They're just not meat." Leo pointed out.

"Whatever." Grover said, waving his hand.

**Come on. Let's leave. These statues are ... looking at me."**

"Dude. That is creepy." Frank agreed.

**Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of us was a tall Middle Eastern woman—at least, I assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. **

"To be specific, she's Greek." Annabeth said.

**Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant, so I imagined she was a grandmother who had once been a beautiful lady.**

"She was pretty once upon a time." I said at Annabeth's incredulous look.

**Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"**

**"They're ... um ..." Annabeth started to say.**

**"We're orphans," I said.**

Reyna smacked a hand to her forehead. "Really?"

**"Orphans?" the woman said. The word sounded alien in her mouth. "But, my dears! Surely not!"**

**"We got separated from our caravan," I said. "Our circus caravan. **

"Oh dear Jupiter." Reyna groaned.

"Next time we go on a quest, remind me to never let Percy come up with the lie." Hazel said to Frank seriously. I made a face at them.

**The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?"**

"Your manners are horrendous." Piper said with a smirk.

**"Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."**

**We thanked her and went inside. Annabeth muttered to me, "Circus caravan?" "Always have a strategy, right?" "Your head is full of kelp."**

"I agree with Annabeth." Several people said, causing Annabeth to smirk at me.

**The warehouse was filled with more statues—people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statues, because they were all life-size. But mostly, I was thinking about food.**

"Naturally." Annabeth scoffed.

**Go ahead, call me an idiot for walking into a strange lady's shop like that just because I was hungry, but I do impulsive stuff sometimes. **

"Okay, you're an idiot." Everybody chorused.

"Gee thanks. I'm really feeling the love." I said sarcastically.

**Plus, you've never smelled Aunty Em's burgers. The aroma was like laughing gas in the dentist's chair—it made everything else go away. I barely noticed Grover's nervous whimpers, or the way the statues' eyes seemed to follow me, or the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us.**

"Get out now." Jason said tightly.

**All I cared about was finding the dining area. And sure enough, there it was at the back of the warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. **

"mmmmmm… when do we eat?" Frank asked.

"Never at that place. The service was terrible." I said, and Annabeth stifled a giggle.

**Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front.**

**"Please, sit down," Aunty Em said.**

**"Awesome," I said.**

**"Um," Grover said reluctantly, "we don't have any money, ma'am."**

**Before I could jab him in the ribs, Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans."**

"What do you mean the service was terrible? She seems so nice." Piper asked, clearly confused.

"Oh just you wait." Grover said.

**"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said.**

"Seems Annabeth has nice manners."

**Aunty Em stiffened, as if Annabeth had done something wrong, but then the old woman relaxed just as quickly, so I figured it must've been my imagination.**

"After all this time." Annabeth muttered, along with some other words that sounded like "disrespectful… my mother… monster… deserved it…"

**"Quite all right, Annabeth," she said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child." Only later did I wonder how she knew Annabeth's name, even though we had never introduced ourselves.**

"What the hell?" Leo asked.

"Leo! Language!" Both Piper and Reyna scolded.

**Our hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of French fries.**

"Even I don't eat that much!" Frank said, his eyes widening.

**I was halfway through my burger before I remembered to breathe.**

"Breathing is good." Annabeth teased.

**Annabeth slurped her shake.**

"Breathing is good." I mimicked.

**Grover picked at the fries, and eyed the tray's waxed paper liner as if he might go for that, but he still looked too nervous to eat.**

**"What's that hissing noise?" he asked.**

**I listened, but didn't hear anything. Annabeth shook her head.**

"Yes but I have special hearing." Grover pointed out.

**"Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover."**

**"I take vitamins. For my ears."**

"You're as bad as Percy!" Reyna groaned.

"To be fair, we already knew that." Leo said.

"Hey!" Grover protested.

"Need I remind you of the first couple chapters?" I asked. Grover rolled his eyes and declined to answer.

**"That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax."**

"I can never relax when someone tells me to." Leo admitted.

**Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her headdress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched us eat. It was a little unsettling, having someone stare at me when I couldn't see her face, **

"Uh yeah it is!" Frank said at the same time Jason said "Get ready, it's a trap."

**but I was feeling satisfied after the burger, and a little sleepy, and I figured the least I could do was try to make small talk with our hostess.**

**"So, you sell gnomes," I said, trying to sound interested.**

"Possibly the least interesting subject ever." Piper said.

**"Oh, yes," Aunty Em said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."**

**"A lot of business on this road?"**

"She gets enough business." I said darkly.

**"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."**

"She sure does." Annabeth muttered.

**My neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at me. I turned, but it was just a statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. The detail was incredible, much better than you see in most garden statues. But something was wrong with her face. It looked as if she were startled, or even terrified.**

"Um that's weird." Hazel said. "Who would buy a scared statue?"

**"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."**

"For good reason." Grover muttered.

**"You make these statues yourself?" I asked.**

**"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." The sadness in her voice sounded so deep and so real that I couldn't help feeling sorry for her.**

"Geez, even I am starting to feel bad for her." Piper said.

"Don't." Annabeth spat.

**Annabeth had stopped eating. She sat forward and said, "Two sisters?"**

"Aha. The moment Annabeth understands something." I joked.

**"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a... a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."**

"That sounds terrible! Who deserves that?" Piper asked.

"She deserved everything she got." Annabeth said angrily.

**I wasn't sure what she meant, but I felt bad for her. My eyelids kept getting heavier, my full stomach making me sleepy. Poor old lady. Who would want to hurt somebody so nice?**

"Exactly" Hazel said. She shrunk away from our stares.

**"Percy?" Annabeth was shaking me to get my attention. "Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting."**

**She sounded tense. I wasn't sure why. Grover was eating the waxed paper off the tray now, but if Aunty Em found that strange, she didn't say anything.**

"Of course not." Grover said.

"You guys are all acting pretty strange." Leo said frowning.

**"Such beautiful gray eyes," Aunty Em told Annabeth again. "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those."**

**She reached out as if to stroke Annabeth's cheek, **

"Get away from her." I hissed.

**but Annabeth stood up abruptly. "We really should go."**

**"Yes!" Grover swallowed his waxed paper and stood up. "The ringmaster is waiting! Right!"**

**I didn't want to leave. **

"Percy!" everyone groaned. Though they didn't understand who Aunty Em was, they knew a trap when they saw one.

**I felt full and content. Aunty Em was so nice. I wanted to stay with her a while.**

"Stick around and you'll stay a lot longer than you planned." Annabeth warned.

"Yes dear." I said, rolling my eyes. I knew _that_.

**"Please, dears," Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"**

**"A pose?" Annabeth asked warily.**

**"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."**

"See if anyone asked that on the street, they'd be called a pedophile." Piper said thoughtfully.

**Annabeth shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy—"**

**"Sure we can," I said. I was irritated with Annabeth for being so bossy, so rude to an old lady who'd just fed us for free. "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"**

"What's the harm? There's no harm. Come on Annabeth." Annabeth mimicked. "This is why I never listen to you."

**"Yes, Annabeth," the woman purred. "No harm."**

**I could tell Annabeth didn't like it, but she allowed Aunty Em to lead us back out the front door, into the garden of statues.**

"Never listen to me eh?" I said nudging her playfully.

**Aunty Em directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr. "Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young girl in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side."**

"Nicely balanced photo, would turn out lovely." Leo joked.

**"Not much light for a photo," I remarked.**

**"Oh, enough," Aunty Em said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"**

**"Where's your camera?" Grover asked.**

"Did that not scream 'Get away from this crazy lady!" Jason exclaimed.

**Aunty Em stepped back, as if to admire the shot. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"**

**Grover glanced at the cement satyr next to him, and mumbled, "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."**

"Spooky." Hazel muttered.

**"Grover," Aunty Em chastised, "look this way, dear."**

**She still had no camera in her hands.**

"Seriously guys!" Jason said.

**"Percy—" Annabeth said.**

**Some instinct warned me to listen to Annabeth, but I was fighting the sleepy feeling, the comfortable lull that came from the food and the old lady's voice.**

**"I will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil..."**

**"Percy, something's wrong," Annabeth insisted.**

"Heck yes there is!" Reyna said.

**"Wrong?" Aunty Em said, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"**

**"That **_**is **_**Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped. **

"Holy sh-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Leo." Piper scolded Leo.

**"Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted. She whipped her Yankees cap onto her head and****vanished. Her invisible hands pushed Grover and me both off the bench.**

"Always getting you out of trouble isn't she." Reyna asked,

**I was on the ground, looking at Aunt Em's sandaled feet.**

**I could hear Grover scrambling off in one direction, Annabeth in another. But I was too dazed to move.**

"Not good." Hazel said tensely.

**Then I heard a strange, rasping sound above me. My eyes rose to Aunty Em's hands, which had turned gnarled and warty, with sharp bronze talons for fingernails.**

"Somebody needs a pedicure." Leo said. "Maybe you could help her out Beauty queen." Piper smacked him.

**I almost looked higher, but somewhere off to my left Annabeth screamed, "No! Don't!"**

**More rasping—the sound of tiny snakes, right above me, from ... from about where Aunty Em's head would be.**

"Medusa." Jason said grimly, having figured it out several paragraphs earlier.

**"Run!" Grover bleated. I heard him racing across the gravel, yelling, **_**"Maia!" **_**to kick-start his flying sneakers.**

**I couldn't move. I stared at Aunty Em's gnarled claws, and tried to fight the groggy trance the old woman had put me in.**

"Damn. Crap. That is so not good." Frank said.

"Way to state the obvious." Piper teased.

**"Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face," she told me soothingly. "Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up."**

"He's my seaweed brain and you can't have him." Annabeth said stubbornly.

**I fought the urge to obey. Instead I looked to one side and saw one of those glass spheres people put in gardens— a gazing ball. I could see Aunty Em's dark reflection in the orange glass; her headdress was gone, revealing her face as a shimmering pale circle. Her hair was moving, writhing like serpents.**

"There's a very good reason for that." I said

"Gee could it be because it is serpents?" Grover asked sarcastically.

**Aunty Em. Aunty "M." How could I have been so stupid? Think, I told myself. How did Medusa die in the myth?**

"Well, at least you're trying to plan something." Annabeth sighed.

**But I couldn't think. **

"Or not." She added.

**Something told me that in the myth Medusa had been asleep when she was attacked by my namesake, Perseus. She wasn't anywhere near asleep now. If she wanted, she could take those talons right now and rake open my face.**

I shivered. That would have been a terrible way to die, clawed to death by a snake-headed lady.

**"The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, Percy," Medusa said, and she didn't sound anything like a monster. Her voice invited me to look up, to sympathize with a poor old grandmother. **

"of course it did." Reyna sighed.

**"Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this."**

"You deserved it. Uh my mother should have just killed her on the spot." Annabeth groaned.

**"Don't listen to her!" Annabeth's voice shouted, somewhere in the statuary. "Run, Percy!"**

"listen to Annabeth." Hazel begged.

**"Silence!" Medusa snarled. Then her voice modulated back to a comforting purr. "You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. **

"Not while I'm around." I said, holding Annabeth a little closer. She snuggled into my embrace.

**But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer."**

**"No," I muttered. I tried to make my legs move.**

**"Do you really want to help the gods?" Medusa asked.**

"Eh, why not?" I said.

**"Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Percy?**

"Suurrreee." I added.

**What will happen if you reach the Underworld? **

"I'll get my mum back." I answered.

**Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear.**

"I'm not a pawn. Besides, better than working for Kronos."

**You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain."**

"Umm no thanks, I'm quite alright." I said.

**"Percy!" Behind me, I heard a buzzing sound, like a two-hundred-pound hummingbird in a nosedive. **

The tension broke as everyone laughed at the comparison.

**Grover yelled, "Duck!"**

**I turned, and there he was in the night sky, flying in from twelve o'clock with his winged shoes fluttering, Grover, holding a tree branch the size of a baseball bat. His eyes were shut tight, his head twitched from side to side. He was navigating by ears and nose alone.**

"That's impressive Grover." Leo said, reaching to high-five the satyr.

**"Duck!" he yelled again. "I'll get her!"**

**That finally jolted me into action. Knowing Grover, I was sure he'd miss Medusa and nail me. **

"I'm glad you have such confidence in my abilities." Grover said.

"Sorry G-man."

**I dove to one side.**

_**Thwack!**_

**At first I figured it was the sound of Grover hitting a tree. **

Everybody laughed but Grover.

"Sorry Grover." I chuckled. Grover rolled his eyes and joined in the laughter.

**Then Medusa roared with rage. **

"Yes! You hit her!" Jason cheered.

**"You miserable satyr," she snarled. "I'll add you to my collection!" "That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back. I scrambled away and hid in the statuary while Grover swooped down for another pass. **_**Ker-whack!**_

"And another one!" Hazel laughed.

"Let's see, that's two for Grover and zip for Medusa." Annabeth said.

**"Arrgh!" Medusa yelled, her snake-hair hissing and spitting. Right next to me, Annabeth's voice said, "Percy!" I jumped so high my feet nearly cleared a garden gnome. **

"You should join the high-jump team." Leo joked. I laughed as well.

"As long as Annabeth's there to help." I said.

**"Jeez! Don't do that!" Annabeth took off her Yankees cap and became visible. **

**'You have to cut her head off." **

**"What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here."**

Everybody laughed.

"Nice try Perce." Hazel said.

**"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but..." Annabeth swallowed, as if she were about to make a difficult admission. **

"Couldn't admit that a son of Poseidon could do something you couldn't, could you?" I teased. She smacked my arm and refused to answer.

**"But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You—you've got a chance."**

**"What? I can't—"**

**"Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?"**

"No, not really." I admitted.

**She pointed to a pair of statue lovers, a man and a woman with their arms around each other, turned to stone by the monster.**

"That's actually so sad." Piper said sadly. Jason put an arm around her. Reyna narrowed her eyes.

"At least they're together forever. Nothing and no one can separate them." She said.

**Annabeth grabbed a green gazing ball from a nearby pedestal. "A polished shield would be better." She studied the sphere critically. "The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of—"**

**"Would you speak English?"**

"I was!" Annabeth said.

"I meant normal people English." I answered.

**"I **_**am!" **_**She tossed me the glass ball. "Just look at her in the glass. **_**Never **_**look at her directly." **

"See? Was it so hard to speak normally?" I teased.

"Well, I did have to dumb it down quite a bit." She teased right back. I made a face at her but she just smiled back.

**"Hey, guys!" Grover yelled somewhere above us. "I think she's unconscious!" **

"And then you cut her head off." Reyna said nodding.

_**"Roooaaarrr!"**_

"Or not."

**"Maybe not," Grover corrected. He went in for another pass with the tree branch.**

**"Hurry," Annabeth told me. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash."**

"I'm glad you have such confidence in me." Grover protested.

**I took out my pen and uncapped it. The bronze blade of Riptide elongated in my hand.**

**I followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair.**

"That's kind of cool when you think about it." Frank said, wrinkling his nose.

"Says Mr. I-can-turn-into-anything-I-want." Hazel said.

**I kept my eyes locked on the gazing ball so I would only glimpse Medusa's reflection, not the real thing. Then, in the green tinted glass, I saw her.**

**Grover was coming in for another turn at bat, but this time he flew a little too low. Medusa grabbed the stick and pulled him off course. He tumbled through the air and crashed into the arms of a stone grizzly bear with a painful "Ummphh!"**

"Okay, maybe I can't fly around forever." Grover admitted. "Though it was her fault I crashed."

"Alright there Grover." Annabeth said.

**Medusa was about to lunge at him when I yelled, "Hey!"**

"That was very brave." Reyna admitted.

**I advanced on her, which wasn't easy, holding a sword and a glass ball. If she charged, I'd have a hard time defending myself.**

Annabeth paled.

"I'm alright." I reminded her.

**But she let me approach—twenty feet, ten feet.**

**I could see the reflection of her face now. Surely it wasn't really **_**that **_**ugly. The green swirls of the gazing ball must be distorting it, making it look worse.**

"Nope, she's _that_ ugly." I said, shaking my head.

**"You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy," she crooned. "I know you wouldn't."**

**I hesitated, fascinated by the face I saw reflected in the glass—the eyes that seemed to burn straight through the green tint, making my arms go weak.**

**From the cement grizzly, Grover moaned, "Percy, don't listen to her!" Medusa cackled. "Too late." She lunged at me with her talons.**

Leo swore and jumped back.

"Sorry." He said when he realized we were all staring at him. "It was a little shocking."

"Tell me about it." I said.

**I slashed up with my sword, heard a sickening **_**shlock!, **_**then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern—the sound of a monster disintegrating.**

"Ewww." Seemed to be the general consensus.

**Something fell to the ground next to my foot. It took all my willpower not to look. I could feel warm ooze soaking into my sock, little dying snake heads tugging at my shoelaces.**

"That was nasty." I said, remembering the feel.

**"Oh, yuck," Grover said. His eyes were still tightly closed, but I guess he could hear the thing gurgling and steaming. "Mega-yuck."**

"That sums it up pretty well." Piper said, disgusted.

**Annabeth came up next to me, her eyes fixed on the sky. She was holding Medusa's black veil. She said, "Don't move."**

"Wasn't planning on it." I said.

**Very, very carefully, without looking down, she knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice.**

"Double mega-yuck." Jason said.

**"Are you okay?" she asked me, her voice trembling.**

"I was a little scared." She admitted.

"Understandable." Reyna said.

**"Yeah," I decided, though I felt like throwing up my double cheeseburger. "Why didn't ... why didn't the head evaporate?"**

"Valid question. Why?" Leo asked.

"Because it became a spoil of war. I bet you a denarii it would still petrify people." Jason explained.

"You're on." Leo challenged.

**"Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," she said. "Same as your minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you."**

"Why do I bother?" Leo said, rummaging in his pocket for the Roman coin.

**Grover moaned as he climbed down from the grizzly statue. He had a big welt on his forehead. His green rasta cap hung from one of his little goat horns, and his fake feet had been knocked off his hooves. The magic sneakers were flying aimlessly around his head.**

"Rough time then eh?" Frank said, half sincere, half joking.

"Not even the worst of it." Grover sighed.

**"The Red Baron," I said. "Good job, man." He managed a bashful grin. "That really was **_**not **_**fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? **_**Not **_**fun." **

The room erupted into laughter.

"That does sound like a fun game. Whack-a-Medusa." Piper giggled.

**He snatched his shoes out of the air. I recapped my sword. Together, the three of us stumbled****back to the warehouse.**

**We found some old plastic grocery bags behind the snack counter and double-wrapped Medusa's head. We plopped it on the table where we'd eaten dinner and sat around it, too exhausted to speak.**

**Finally I said, "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?"**

"Are you kidding me?" Annabeth said pulling away from me. "Your father snuck into my mother's temple!"

"Well she didn't have to over react or make it so medusa turned people to stone. That seems like a bad idea! Hmm gee I'll turn this chick into a hideous monster but let her turn innocent people into stone. Brilliant idea." I ranted.

"She did it so that Poseidon would-"

"Can you two stop playing the blame game?" Grover cut in. "Geez why do I put up with you two?"

"I'm sorry wise girl, I guess it was my dad's fault." I apologized sheepishly.

"It was, but I suppose having her turn people to stone was an oversight on my mother's part." Annabeth admitted. Well I guess that was good as I was going to get.

**Annabeth flashed me an irritated look. "Your dad, actually. **

"Oh dear. Same argument part two." Piper groaned.

**Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. They decided to meet in my mother's temple. That's why Athena turned her into a monster. **

"See?" Annabeth hissed in my ear. I rolled my eyes. I may be a sea weed brain but even I knew when to cut my losses.

**Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you as a nice statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him."**

"Pretty disturbing actually." I shuddered.

**My face was burning. "Oh, so now it's **_**my **_**fault we met Medusa." Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of my voice, she said: "'It's just a photo, Annabeth.****What's the harm?'"**

"Ah. I knew you wouldn't let him off the hook." Reyna smirked.

"Of course not. Where would the fun be in that?" Annabeth chuckled, ruffling my hair.

"Ahhh!" I cried, trying to fix it.

**"Forget it," I said. "You're impossible."**

**"You're insufferable."**

**"Y ou're—"**

"I can't believe you two. In the middle of a quest." Piper said amused.

"Yeah, things weren't so smooth at first." I said.

"Understatement." Grover said. "I had to spend the entire quest with you two bickering."

**"Hey!" Grover interrupted. "You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even **_**get **_**migraines. What are we going to do with the head?"**

"See?" Grover said. "Honestly, I think I was happier than the two of you when you got together."

"Doubt that." Annabeth and I said together.

**I stared at the thing. One little snake was hanging out of a hole in the plastic. The words printed on the side of the bag said: WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS!**

"Classy." Piper snorted.

**I was angry, not just with Annabeth or her mom, but with all the gods for this whole quest, for getting us blown off the road and in two major fights the very first day out from camp. **

"That is a crappy first day." Frank agreed.

**At this rate, we'd never make it to L.A. alive, much less before the summer solstice.**

"True." Leo shrugged. "Good luck with that one."

**What had Medusa said?**

_**Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue.**_

**I got up. "I'll be back."**

**"Percy," Annabeth called after me. "What are you—"**

"You're such a sea weed brain sometimes. Like seriously Percy? You just had to do that?" Annabeth demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Reyna asked.

"It's coming up, keep reading Jason." I said.

**I searched the back of the warehouse until I found Medusa's office. Her account book showed her six most recent sales, all shipments to the Underworld to decorate Hades and Persephone's garden. **

Hazel groaned. "Of course he bought some."

**According to one freight bill, the Underworld's billing address was DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. **

"Fitting. Dead on arrival." Frank mused.

"It's punny." Leo chuckled, causing Piper to hit his arm.

**I folded up the bill and stuffed it in my pocket.****In the cash register I found twenty dollars, a few golden drachmas, and some packing slips for Hermes Overnight Express, each with a little leather bag attached for coins. I rummaged around the rest of the office until I found the right-size box.**

"Who do you send it to?" Piper asked curiously.

**I went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head, and filled out a delivery slip:**

_**The Gods Mount Olympus 600th Floor, Empire State Building New York, NY**_

_**With best wishes, PERCY JACKSON**_

"Please tell me you didn't!" Jason begged.

"Percy, how are you still alive?" Leo asked.

"I honestly have no idea." I admitted.

"Me either." Annabeth added.

**"They're not going to like that," Grover warned. "They'll think you're impertinent." **

"Not to mention they're going to be pissed."

**I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a****cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a **_**pop!**_

**"I **_**am **_**impertinent," I said.**

"Duh." Frank said.

"Gee you don't say?" Grover added.

**I looked at Annabeth, daring her to criticize.**

"I think I just accepted the fact you were determined to get us on the gods bad side at every turn on this quest." Annabeth said.

**She didn't. She seemed resigned to the fact that I had a major talent for ticking off the gods. "Come on," she muttered. "We need a new plan."**

"Do any of these plans ever work?" Hazel asked.

"Sometimes." Annabeth admitted.

"Alright well that chapter's done." Jason said. "Your turn Piper."

Piper took the book and turned to the next page "**We Get Advice From a Poodle**." She read. "Really?" she asked raising an eyebrow.


End file.
